Crystal Clear
by maple the wacky tree
Summary: "What does Tamaki have that I lack?" Kyouya asked quietly. He didn't expect Haruhi to answer. Actually, he really didn't even mean to say that out loud. It just sort of escaped his lips before he could really think, something he tried to avoid doing.
1. Chapter 1

Kyouya let his pencil tap over the name of the Host Club King, and he lifted his eyes from his folder momentarily. The over-energetic blond was currently calm and cool as his fingers danced over his beloved ivory keys. All around Kyouya, women were uttering hushed noises of pleasure and admiration. A certain few even swayed softly at their tables as they sipped their tea. He returned his eyes to his folder again.

_Note: Introduction of piano playing to tea ceremonies: success. _

Kyouya shut his folder with a snap and adjusted his glasses. Despite his academic records and work ethic, there were some things Tamaki would always be better at. It didn't take number one grades in the class to notice the pattern. Whereas Kyouya always succeeded in analytics and numbers, Tamaki had the upper hand in more humanities related subjects. Literature. Art. Piano. And of course, actual interaction with people and other aspects of sociability. Without fail, Tamaki always gained more customers than Kyouya, every single day.

Kyouya let his eyes wander for a moment, and they found themselves staring at their newest host. Haruhi, dressed in a white suit, as they all were, was serving tea to some of the guests and winning them over with her adorable smile. But as she handed the customers their tea, Kyouya noticed that she would look up towards Tamaki and his piano several times. Her face was soft as she listened to the beautiful melody gliding through the room.

Yes, it seemed no matter how hard Kyouya tried, there were always some things that Tamaki would beat him at.

* * *

Everyone was gone. Haruhi and the twins had already cleared out the tables, so the music room was empty of everything except the piano. Kyouya finished balancing out their treasury after today's hosting. Then he logged out of his laptop and stood up. Before he left, he paused at the piano. His fingers twitched at his sides. Since no one was here anyway, he gave into his whims with a sigh and sat down at the piano. He took a while adjusting his posture and fingering the keys, as if he was cautiously getting reacquainted with an old friend after so long, a friend whose last memory of which consisted of an argument and fight. But after a considerably lengthy hesitation, he began.

Kyouya remembered his first piano lesson. He had taken one almost a month after he had first met Tamaki. At first, it was only because of a sheer desire to emulate Tamaki's gift, to create something as beautiful as he could. But when Kyouya had realized just how challenging the piano was, he began to grow bitter. Soon, though Tamaki never knew of his friend's lessons, piano playing became a competition for the two boys. It didn't matter that Tamaki had never made an official declaration; he was Kyouya's rival all the same. Kyouya began to hold secret competitions with the blond all the time, in many other areas as well. But no matter how often he practiced, no matter how hard he worked, the results were the same. Second-best, a title Kyouya was not used to nor particularly liked.

_So typical of the third son,_ Kyouya thought grimly, gritting his teeth. _Can't do anything right._

A door creaked. Kyouya paused, drawing out the high note a couple beats longer than he was supposed to. His glanced out of the corner of his eyes to see who had dared to disturb him. Then he smoothly resumed playing, his eyes closed and a soft smirk on his lips.

"Is there anything you need, Haruhi?" he called out to her as his fingers skimmed over the keys.

"Ah, K-kyouya-sempai! It's nothing important," Haruhi stammered nervously, which only made Kyouya's smile widen. "I seemed to have accidentally left my math book in here, so I came back to get it. Then I heard the piano playing and thought it was Tamaki-sempai."

Tamaki . . .

Kyouya's fingers slipped, creating an ugly glitch in what otherwise would have been a perfect song. His brow furrowed. He hated anything less than perfection.

The Otoori heard Haruhi's quiet steps as she looked for her math book, and then her soft intake of breath when she found it. There was a long period of silence after that, which the piano was all too happy to fill.

"I didn't know you played the piano," Haruhi commented after a while.

"It's an old hobby of mine," Kyouya explained coolly. He heard the girl draw closer to it. Kyouya finished the song with an over-the-top flourish, just to impress her, and then his fingers were still. He glanced up at her, adjusting his glasses so that his eyes were hidden by a glare. "Do you like it?"

"Hmmm," Haruhi said, sitting down on the bench next to Kyouya without a single thought. Kyouya tried to fight back his amused smile. "It's good I guess," was Haruhi's blunt reply as she shrugged.

A vein twitched in Kyouya's temple, but he decided to ignore her criticism. He played five short notes going down the scale and asked, "But not as good as Tamaki, right?"

"No."

_Did she have to be so honest? _Kyouya wondered resignedly.

"I don't think anyone can play better than Tamaki-sempai."

_She's still talking about it!_

"Nope, Tamaki-sempai is definitely the best when it comes to the piano. He's the King, no matter how idiotic he may be."

_I wish she would just shut up before I get really pissed off, _Kyouya thought to himself, struggling to keep his temper in check.

He quietly shut the cover on the piano. "What does Tamaki have that I lack, Haruhi?" Kyouya asked. He didn't expect Haruhi to answer. Actually, he really didn't even mean to say that out loud. It just sort of escaped his lips before he could really think, something he tried to avoid doing.

Haruhi tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Mmm, I don't really know. I'm not a piano expert," Haruhi admitted. "But, I think it's because Tamaki-sempai's looser with his feelings. He's not afraid to express himself with song."

"Oh?" Kyouya replied, cocking an eyebrow at her.

Haruhi nodded. "That has to be it. After all, isn't the number one goal in art to make people feel something? But if you're locking your emotions up inside and refusing to show what you might think, then how are people supposed to clearly understand the sentiment you're trying to convey? Being honest with yourself and revealing your true intentions without fear. I think that is the main challenge to things of that nature, right?"

Kyouya stared at her for a while, but then he let out a chuckle. "So you think that I should be more open, huh?"

"Well, ordinarily you're always really cold and it's hard to tell what you're thinking, so I'm sure it must affect your piano playing," Haruhi replied. "You don't live up to your full potential, I guess."

"Are you sure you think it's okay for me to be so honest though?" he asked with the slightest crooked grin.

"Why not? I think it would be a nice change," Haruhi said. "People might like you more instead of being afraid of you all the time."

Kyouya heaved a long sigh and propped his head up with his elbow. "Just remember that you're the one who suggested it," he said. His eyes met hers, and with his free hand, he gently reached up to Haruhi's cheek, giving it a soft caress.

Haruhi blinked in surprise and flinched back. "What are you doing?" she asked curiously.

Kyouya chuckled again, shaking his head at her cluelessness. "Taking your advice, that's what."

He slid closer to her and, after a slight hesitation of wondering if this was really alright for him to do, he leaned in. He heard Haruhi suck in her breath sharply, and her body tensed up. But once his lips met hers, Kyouya was relieved to find her relaxing again, her body melting against his. Kyouya didn't hold the kiss for long, because he was still slightly worried that he was making a mistake. When he broke away, he rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. "Was _that_ message clear enough for you?" he asked quietly.

Haruhi swallowed, and she muttered a hoarse, "Yes." They sat there for another few seconds before Haruhi jumped to her feet and hurriedly collected her things. "W-well. I'll see you tomorrow, Kyouya-sempai," Haruhi stammered. She forced out a hasty goodbye as she rushed out the door.

Haruhi shut the door and leaned against it, her mind whirling. What exactly had just happened? Barely breathing, the girl brought a hand to her mouth, which was still tingling with his taste. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and stood there for several seconds, trying to calm herself down.

The piano's notes resumed spilling out from underneath the doors, exactly as if nothing had happened. But this time they were different. Haruhi's heart slowed down and matched its soothing rhythm. The sound was both so much sweeter and bitterer than before. Smiling softly, Haruhi gave a little nod to herself. "Exactly," she whispered, relishing the sound with her eyes closed. "I can understand the song perfectly now."

* * *

**A/N:** Yay! Another half day and day off from school=another fanfic for you guys. Aren't y'all excited? Btw, I've never played the piano before, but I do like to listen to it. If anything seems off in the description, it's just because I'm ignorant.


	2. Chapter 2

Haruhi sighed as she changed back into her school uniform. Unfortunately, that was a task that only involved her hands. Her mind was free to roam and wander, a dangerous prospect. The girl kept thinking about how Kyouya had not said anything to her today. Or, how he had seemed even more buried in his notebook than usual. Or, even worse, that kiss from yesterday. Haruhi felt the phantom of his lips brushing against hers, and she stiffened in surprise before shaking her head wildly to rid herself of the illusion.

She had no idea how to deal with this.

Haruhi walked out of the dressing room, heaving another sigh, when she realized she wasn't the only one in the room.

"Ah! Tamaki-sempai!" Haruhi exclaimed, trotting over to the Host King.

Tamaki had been staring out the window wordlessly, but when he heard his name, he turned around and smiled warmly. "I knew it! I knew my daughter was still here! Are you just amazed at my intuition?" he gushed over-dramatically.

Though his antics were often exhausting and idiotic, Haruhi couldn't help but smile slightly as she shook her head. "I'm normally always the last person, Sempai. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out," Haruhi muttered bluntly . . .

To which Tamaki suddenly zoomed over to his corner of woe and summoned dark storm clouds to rain over his head.

Haruhi rolled her eyes at him. "Anyway, why did you stay behind so late, Tamaki-sempai?"

"Oh! That's right! How terrible, simply terrible, of me to forget!" Tamaki exclaimed, jumping to his feet.

_Wow. Such a speedy recovery_, Haruhi thought to herself, somewhat resigned. But then she blinked in surprise when Tamaki flourished a bright yellow umbrella in front of her.

"It looks like it's going to rain. The clouds outside are getting thicker and thicker," he explained, suddenly soft and quiet. "There was no weather prediction for rain today, so I figured you didn't have an umbrella on you."

Haruhi took the umbrella with wide-eyes, startled at his consideration and gentle chivalry. Despite herself, she felt a slight blush coming on, an occurrence that had been happening more and more frequently whenever she was with the King of the Host Club. "Th-thank you," she stammered, embarrassed.

"I had one of my servants buy one from Tokyo and deliver it to me right away so that I could give it to you. Do you like it? It even has the character of 'sunshine' written on it, done by a master of calligraphy."

Alright. Any admiration or warm fuzzy feelings she had been experiencing before completely disappeared. _Rich bastard_, Haruhi thought to herself.

Tamaki's face fell at her lack of response. Haruhi flinched slightly when she caught the beginnings of the dreaded puppy dog face.

"You . . . you don't like it?" Tamaki pouted with tears in his eyes. "Maybe I should have gotten something cheaper and more commoner-like? Commoners use umbrella hats, right?"

_Who do you think we are? Chinese farmers?!?_ Haruhi thought in exasperation. But she really couldn't resist his expression. It made her heart melt too much. So, for him, she coughed and said, "Not really. It's fine. An umbrella is an umbrella." And then, after a slight hesitation, she flashed him one of her 'natural' smiles.

Tamaki grinned back, awed at her cuteness. He ruffled her hair, which made Haruhi blush at the contact. Noticing this, Tamaki stopped and peered at her face. "You know, Haruhi," he said, leaning in close. "Your cheeks look a little flushed. You're not getting sick, are you?"

"Of course not!" Haruhi exclaimed a little too loudly, flustered.

"Are you _suuuuure_?" Tamaki said, drawing out the vowel.

He leaned in even closer. Suddenly, Haruhi had a flashback of what had happened yesterday. Her. Kyouya. The kiss. Before she knew what she was doing, her hands reached up and shoved Tamaki back roughly. Breathing hard, face completely red in embarrassment, Haruhi said, "I told you, I'm fine!" She averted her eyes and wondered, _Why did I think of Kyouya when Tamaki got too close?_

Tamaki was a little taken aback at her rejection, but he persisted for a little while longer. "Well, would you like me to walk you home at least?" he offered concernedly.

Haruhi shook her head. "I'm fine. I can walk alone. Besides, my apartment is in a different direction from where you live."

"But Haruhi—"

"It's fine. Go already," Haruhi laughed, giving him a helpful push towards the door.

Tamaki scratched the back of his head for a moment, undecided. But then he consented. "Alright. I'll see you tomorrow then." Tamaki turned abruptly serious and assumed a heroic pose. "If any thugs on the streets start to bug my daughter, don't hesitate to give me a call! Daddy will be there in a jiffy to murder them all!" And then Tamaki's expression blanked out as he began to have a "Tamaki Theater" moment.

"You don't have to worry so much. I'll see you later."

"Bye, Haruhi!"

The door clicked shut. Haruhi sighed out in relief when the eccentric blond had left. She gathered up her books and packed them back in her bag. Tamaki had been right. As soon as Haruhi was finished and ready to go, it started drizzling outside. The large, arching windows depicted a gray, dreary afternoon. Haruhi moved towards the door, but stopped when her eyes caught sight of that piano in the corner. It had been covered with a white sheet, for later use. Haruhi looked around her, checking to make sure the room really was empty. Then she hurried over to the piano.

Her hands pulled back the white sheet and uncovered the piano. For a moment, Haruhi simply let her index finger skim the surface of the keys, not making a sound. Tamaki's sheet music was still propped up and open. Haruhi glanced at it, but immediately looked away again. All of those complex black notes made her head hurt. The music almost looked like a foreign language, one she would never know.

"I wonder how Tamaki-sempai and Kyouya-sempai can play this," Haruhi muttered to herself, and she pressed down on a single key, letting the note ring clearly into the silent room.

"Are you interested?" a voice whispered in her ear.

Startled, Haruhi squealed and jumped, her hands accidentally slamming against the piano and creating a loud, ominous "DOM!" noise. Her hands reached up for her chest where her heart was throbbing painfully. "Kyouya-sempai!" Haruhi gasped when she tossed a look over her shoulder. Seeing his smug face made her angry. "Don't sneak up on me like that! And why are you still here anyway?"

Kyouya ignored her demands. Instead, chuckling, he stepped closer to her back and gently but firmly grabbed Haruhi's hands in his own. He pulled them away from her chest and placed them back on the piano. "Are you interested?" he repeated amusedly. "Would you like to learn?"

"Not really," Haruhi said, sounding a little harsher than she felt because she was still a little pissed about him scaring her.

"Oh?" Kyouya responded simply. With her fingers trapped under his, he began to play the piano. Haruhi's hands followed Kyouya's hands step by step. Like they were dancing together on the piano. "But you already have such talent for it," he teased as he lead her fingers into something that sounded like Chopin.

Haruhi stared up at Kyouya's face as he played the piano. His eyes were closed, and the small, soft smile revealed that he was actually enjoying himself to a certain extent. That amazed Haruhi. But then, a thought occurred to her.

"Kyouya-sempai," she began quietly. "Were you . . . were you waiting for me?"

"Yes," he replied immediately, without the slightest pause. "Though I thought you and Tamaki would never finish talking."

"But why?" Haruhi prodded, genuinely curious.

Kyouya's hands ceased to play. They resting, unmoving, for a couple of seconds before snatching up Haruhi's hands once more. "Come on. We're going," Kyouya ordered.

"What?! Going where?" Haruhi exclaimed in shock as she was dragged along.

In a single, smooth motion, Kyouya released one of Haruhi's hands and scooped up her other belongings from the floor. He handed the girl her bags but kept a firm grip on the bright yellow umbrella. "It's raining," he stated flatly.

"I'm aware of that. _Thanks_," Haruhi spat sarcastically.

Kyouya's glasses flashed as he adjusted them. "You're not allowed to walk out in the rain by yourself," he said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Haruhi gaped and stammered incoherently at him. After the first few flights downstairs, she was finally able to speak again. "Wait, wait. Says who?"

"Says me, of course."

"And what exactly are you going to do about that?" Haruhi asked through gritted teeth. She stumbled slightly, finding it hard to keep up with Kyouya's long-legged pace.

"You will be accompanying me in my limo. Please do try to keep up, Haruhi. I'm going to be late enough as it is."

"But—b-but! I can't do that!" Haruhi spluttered. "I know you. You'll just add the gas spent driving to my house to my debt. I really, _really_ can't afford to increase my debt from you any further."

"Nonsense. I won't do anything of the sort," Kyouya muttered, actually sounding indignant.

"Then why are you doing this for me? Where's the merit?"

"Eh? Don't you remember?" Kyouya asked. "You told me to be more open about my feelings. So I'm showing them to you" Kyouya flashed Haruhi a crooked, mischievous grin, one that made the poor girl swallow hard. Not necessarily because she was scared, but because the grin looked really . . . _good_ on Kyouya. "Do you really not remember yesterday that well? Do I need to give you a replay?" he asked, starting to bend down.

Haruhi squeaked and threw her bag up in the air to shield herself. "That won't be necessary," Haruhi said in a small voice.

Kyouya straightened, his grin gone. "What? Did you not like it after all?" he murmured, almost too quietly for Haruhi to hear. "I'm really going out on a limb for you."

Haruhi's face burned in mortification. Dear mother in heaven, how had she ended up here? It nearly caused her mental agony to look Kyouya in the eyes at the moment!

"You're confusing me," Haruhi admitted reluctantly. "Just . . . just give me a minute."

Kyouya didn't respond at first, instead choosing to squeeze Haruhi's hand even tighter. Almost possessively. It made Haruhi's whole arm tingle.

"I assure you, I could wait forever . . . but only if the answer is favorable," Kyouya sighed. "You know I don't like wasting time, almost as much as I don't like not getting my way."

And together, hand in hand, they walked out into the rain.

* * *

**A/N:** So I decided that I wanted to continue this. I couldn't help myself. It just had so much potential. But to be honest, I have no real idea of where this is going. Bear with me. I'll try to plot it out sometime soon so I'm not just rambling.

As usual, please keep reviewing. And if you give me suggestions about what you would like to see, well . . . I could give it a try. Ideas are always welcomed and appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3

"What's this? Club activities only just ended, but you already have your nose in a book?" Hikaru exclaimed, scooting closer to the only female host and lifting up her book from the table so he could take a peek at the title. "Physics?"

Haruhi frowned and jerked the textbook back away from him. "Don't you remember? We have a physics test coming up."

"But Haruhi," Kaoru reminded from her other side. He propped up his chin with his elbow. "That test isn't until next week. You shouldn't spend your entire weekend studying."

"But I want to make sure I do well," Haruhi protested.

Suddenly, Tamaki charged in at that very moment and stamped his foot. "Fools!" he cried dramatically. "Quit molesting my precious daughter while she's studying! You know very well that she has to stay at the top of the class to receive her scholarship, otherwise she can't afford a school such as this. She'll have to go to a . . . a . . . _public school_!" Tamaki gasped horror, as if the word were synonymous with prison.

"It's not as though I've never been to a public school before. Are you insulting my lack of money?" Haruhi muttered pointedly, making Tamaki return to his corner of woe.

"But anyway, Haruhi," Hikaru pouted. "You should take a break sometime. Too much studying will give you premature wrinkles. You'll look like an old crone by the age of 25. It's a proven fact"

"Done by who?" Haruhi asked skeptically.

That's when Hikaru's face lit up, and he banged his fist against the table, smiling wildly. "That's it! I have an idea!" he declared excitedly.

Kaoru blinked and cocked his head. "Ehh? What's this? That's pretty rare for you."

Hikaru ignored his twin for the moment. He grinned down at Haruhi crookedly. "Our mom is doing a fashion shoot tomorrow. She wanted to know if you would like to be a model for some of her designs. Why don't you take a break from studying and come hang out at our house, and then you can be in the fashion shoot."

"Oh." Haruhi looked down at her hands in her lap, and to Kaoru's surprise, the girl blushed a little. Kaoru stared at her in interest. "I'm sorry, Hikaru. But I have plans."

"That sucks. Well, some other time, huh?" Hikaru replied, clapping her on the back.

"What's this?" Tamaki cried from his corner. He took a great giant leap and glomped Haruhi, much to her chagrin. "Were you perhaps hoping to spend your Saturday with your beloved father? Why didn't you ask sooner! I would love to! I would love to, Haruhi!"

"Tamaki, you're suffocating me," Haruhi stated emotionlessly, though her blush had increased in its intensity. This time, even Hikaru noticed, and jealousy welled up inside of him.

"Oi, Tono! Don't you see she wants you to stop?" Hikaru shouted.

"Nonsense! Affection between father and daughter is completely natural! Right, right?" Tamaki insisted.

Kaoru watched Tamaki and Hikaru bicker for a moment, but then he turned his gaze back on Haruhi. She let out a long sigh and fiddled with the end of the table cloth. "Have you seen Kyouya?" Haruhi asked suddenly, meeting Kaoru's eyes for a brief moment.

"U-uh, no. Sorry," Kaoru stammered, surprised.

Haruhi went back to playing with the end of the table cloth. "Oh, I see," she sighed, preoccupied.

Kaoru wanted to inquire further, but he sensed it wasn't the time to do so. He stood up from the table. "Hikaru, let's go home," Kaoru said.

"Huh? So soon?" Hikaru replied, forgetting about his fight with Tamaki for a moment.

"Yes. Mother wants us to help set up for the fashion shoot tomorrow, remember? Besides, club activities are finished anyway."

Hikaru frowned for a moment, but then he gave in. "Alright. Later, Haruhi," he called.

"Oh! I'll see you two out!" Tamaki offered, following them.

The door clicked shut. Haruhi let out another sigh. She gave up on her textbook, knowing full well that her thoughts were too jumbled to concentrate on physics. _It's like this every day,_ Haruhi thought to herself. _He always vanishes just before the club meetings end. And then . . ._

Haruhi shut her text book and walked over to the sofa where she had left her textbook. But it wasn't there. Cocking her head in confusion, Haruhi checked under the pillows and even under the sofa. "Where'd it go?" she wondered aloud.

"Looking for this?"

His voice didn't even make her flinch anymore, she was so used to him sneaking up on her. Haruhi turned around to find Kyouya holding out her bag for her. Haruhi smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Kyouya-sempai."

"Are you all set, then?"

"Yep!" Haruhi replied cheerfully with a nod.

There was a slight pause, but then Kyouya smiled softly as well. He took her hand in his and lead her out the door. "Then let's go."

As they walked through the empty halls, Haruhi made sure to trail slightly behind Kyouya. That way, she could stare at him without being caught. At one point, he gave her hand a little squeeze, and rush of warmth floated up her arm, reaching all the way to her shoulder.

_It's always like this, _Haruhi thought bemusedly. _He always vanishes just before the club meeting ends. And then, as soon as everyone has left, he reappears as if nothing had happened. Why does he act like this? And why does he always insist on giving me a ride home in his limo? I can understand his reason when it was raining, but the weather is perfectly nice today. _

It had almost become their little routine. One that Haruhi never questioned. She was half-afraid to find out what Kyouya's answer was. After the piano incident, she never knew what to expect around him. He had changed somewhat . . . well, only when they were alone.

When they reached the limo, Kyouya held the door open for her. Haruhi muttered a quick, embarrassed thank you and scrambled inside. Haruhi sat on one side. Kyouya on the other. A whole, empty seat lied in between them, a space that Haruhi was always acutely aware of. Kyouya had released her hand. But even though his hand was gone, Haruhi could still feel a slight burning sensation from where his fingers had been, almost as if she had been branded. Haruhi placed her hands in her lap and leaned slightly away from Kyouya, looking out the window. Though Haruhi didn't check, she was pretty certain that Kyouya had done the same. The silences in the limo were always quite awkward and agonizing for the both of them.

However, surprisingly, it seemed Kyouya was going to do something about that today. He cleared his throat and remarked, "I heard that you turned down the Hitachin's invitation today."

"Eh?" Haruhi said, removing her eyes from the window to look at Kyouya. But she wished she hadn't. He was staring so intently at her with his onyx eyes. It made Haruhi shrink back in embarrassment, and she felt a flush cross her cheeks.

"Does that mean we're still on for our date tomorrow?" Kyouya asked, genuinely curious.

Haruhi's temperature skyrocketed. "It isn't a date!" Haruhi insisted, mortified. "It's just . . . it's just a get-together between two friends!"

"So it's a date," Kyouya stated, amused that Haruhi was getting so flustered.

Haruhi folded her arms and returned to staring out the window, waiting for her face to cool down before speaking again in a soft voice. "Hey . . . do you really see me like that?"

"Hmm?"

The car passed by a small park. Haruhi could see a small family, swinging their child back and forth. There was also a couple, talking and laughing. But one girl was all by herself, sitting at a picnic table and reading a book in the sun. Where was her special someone?

"What are we?" Haruhi asked quietly.

Kyouya stared at her helplessly, not knowing what to say. It was quite difficult to deal with such an oblivious girl all the time. Though perhaps that was part of her charm. Still, he didn't want to ruin things by saying the wrong thing now. Once again, he doubted himself, wondering if it was really right of him to be seeing Haruhi like this. After all, Tamaki liked Haruhi, even if the idiot didn't see that himself. And Haruhi might be holding feelings for Tamaki as well.

Tamaki always beat him when it came to situations of this nature.

Kyouya clenched his fists. No. No, he would not lose this time around. The stakes were too high. He didn't know if he could bear watching Tamaki steal Haruhi away from him.

Besides, Haruhi herself had told Kyouya to be more open.

Kyouya adjusted his glances and said, "We should just take it a step at a time. Perhaps it will be easier to answer that question after Saturday."

"Oh, we're here!" Haruhi exclaimed when she saw the apartment complex.

The limo stopped, and Haruhi and Kyouya got out. Haruhi was so very grateful that no one was standing outside today. Sometimes when Kyouya dropped her off, it created so much fuss around the renters that Haruhi would gain a massive migraine by the time she entered her apartment. Kyouya walked her all the way up to her door, where they both hesitated for a moment. That pause had become a part of their ritual too, it seemed.

To break the awkwardness, Haruhi beamed up at Kyouya. "Thanks once again for taking me home. It saves me a bunch of time."

"It's my pleasure."

They paused again in uncertainty. Then Haruhi laughed nervously. "Ummm, I should probably open the door now, h-huh?" she stammered.

The corner of Kyouya's mouth twitched upward. "Yes, you probably should."

Haruhi moved to unlock the door, but it wouldn't budge. Haruhi shoved against the door with all her might, but it still was locked. "Oh!" she exclaimed, looking at her key ring. She looked up at Kyouya sheepishly. "W-wrong key. How stupid of me."

Her expression was so cute that Kyouya couldn't help but chuckle. And then he tilted his head back and started to laugh heartily. "You really are something, Haruhi," he laughed. Still snickering and shaking his head in amazement, Kyouya leaned forward.

Haruhi tensed up. The memory of the day at the piano flashed back before her eyes, and without thinking, she turned her head and held up her hands in defense. Kyouya caught this and realized what he had been doing. To save face, he changed his target and kissed the corner of her forehead instead. "Until tomorrow," he whispered, his face still extremely close to hers. "I cannot wait to see you again."

Too stunned for words, Haruhi only nodded.

Satisfied, Kyouya stood straight, and he left. As soon as he had made it down the stairs, Haruhi scrambled inside her apartment and slammed the door shut. She slid down the door and pressed her hands against her racing heart.

"My chest hurts," she muttered to herself. "What's going on?"

* * *

Haruhi stood in front of her closet with her hands on her hips. She pursed her lips before once more picking out the cutesy blue skirt to go with the pale yellow blouse lying on her bed. It even had a matching ribbon. It was an outfit courtesy of the Hitachiins, given to her one Christmas day. It had resided in the back of her closet for the longest time, but now . . .

"Should I wear it?" Haruhi agonized. She quickly slipped it on and posed in front of the mirror. But when she caught sight of her reflection, she chickened out once more and switched to the other outfit that had been resting on her bed. One more casual. More herself. A plain magenta tank top with denim capris. But when she examined herself in the mirror, she was dissatisfied with how little she stood out. Besides, would Kyouya criticize her lack of dressing up for the occasion, even though they were just grabbing a bite to eat? And back and forth she went between the two outfits. Eventually, the more rational side of her reasoned that she might as well choose the outfit that was more comfortable. Besides, why should Kyouya care about what she wore? Haruhi slipped on a light fleece jacket that was a little too big on her, and then she was satisfied.

"Eh? Are you going out today, Haruhi?" Ranka asked as he watched his daughter bustle about.

"Yes, so I'm afraid you'll have to fix lunch yourself. Is that okay?" Haruhi asked.

"It's fine, it's fine," Ranka reassured as he went back to nursing his black coffee and watching the TV.

Suddenly the doorbell rang. Haruhi glanced at her watch in shock. What was Kyouya doing here? It wasn't as if Haruhi were late. She still had about an hour and a half left until she had to meet him at the arranged place.

"Can you get that, Haruhi?" Ranka called from the living room.

"Uh, um . . . sure," Haruhi said, hesitating for a moment before taking a deep breath and heading for the door. She stood on her tiptoes and glanced through the peephole. Haruhi sucked in her breath and yanked open the door.

"Wha . . . What are you _doing_ here?" she demanded to a happily waving Tamaki.

Tamaki laughed, clearly cheerful, and asked, "I wanted to ask you something."

* * *

**A/N:** oh no! a cliffhanger! what ever could tamaki want to ask? O.O do you hate me now? do you want to rant loudly? then go ahead. i'll listen. you just have to press that little button down there. you know. the one that starts with a "r" and rhymes with "a wonderful view!"


	4. Chapter 4

A beautiful day. Not a cloud in the sky. The breeze was just cool enough to prevent the appearance of sweat, but not chill enough to give one goose bumps. Unusually warm and sunny for a mid-autumn afternoon. It seemed like a perfectly ordinary day. But it wasn't ordinary. Because somehow the manifestation of cheer and warmth had just materialized right before Haruhi's eyes, and it had taken the form of a certain blond teenager, holding a slightly wrinkled newspaper with frayed ends in front of Haruhi's nose.

Haruhi wondered just how much abuse the newspaper had endured during the journey to her apartment.

"I saw it!" Tamaki whispered dramatically, his eyes twice their size as he waved the newspaper.

"Saw what?" Haruhi asked, starting to get exasperated already.

"The mysterious commoner's corner in the newspaper!"

Haruhi just stared at Tamaki.

Excitement dampened a few degrees, Tamaki cleared his throat and explained with a pout, "I saw the section of the newspaper with all the coupons and sales information."

"Ohhhh," Haruhi replied, finally understanding. Then she cocked her head, confused all over again. "Is that what you came way out here to tell me?"

Tamaki shook his head wildly and shoved the newspaper in Haruhi's face even more. She snatched it from him in annoyance and, turning her back to Tamaki, smoothed the front of the newspaper to get a better look at what was fueling the Host King's current high.

"Right there," Tamaki said, suddenly resting his arm on Haruhi's shoulder and pointing out a particular announcement. But Haruhi couldn't focus on the newsprint, because she was too distracted by how close Tamaki was. "There's a pet sale going on. I wanted to get Antoinette a buddy to play with!"

Haruhi quickly slipped out from under Tamaki's arm, clearing her throat. She never minded when the twins hung all over her, so why did it bother her so much when Tamaki did it? Her face felt a little warm. Was she getting sick, or maybe it was just the jacket? After all, the weather was a little too warm for a jacket. Yes, that had to be the reason.

"So why did you want to tell me?" Haruhi asked, still not quite getting it.

"You have to come with me!" Tamaki gushed. He grabbed her wrist and was already beginning to drag her down the steps though she was still barefoot. "It will be a wonderfully spectacular father-daughter bonding session!"

"No."

"Oh, pleeeeeeeeeease! Please, oh please, oh pretty please!" Tamaki whined. He crouched down in a ball and looked up at Haruhi with the dreaded puppy dog eyes, all the while clinging to her wrist and jerking it around. "I don't want to go by myself!"

"Then go tell everyone else!" Haruhi said. She had to shout to be heard over Tamaki's protest.

"But Hikaru and Kaoru are busy with the fashion shoot! Mori-sempai is giving his Piyo-chan a bath and Honey claims he's too busy trying to set a cake-eating record. YOU'RE MY ONLY HOPE!" Tamaki exclaimed over-dramatically.

"But I have to meet someone today!" Haruhi protested without thinking.

They both froze, and Tamaki actually shut up. His hand slowly slipped off Haruhi's wrist while she continued to try to ignore how hot her jacket was making her feel. Maybe she should just take it off? Her face was probably so flushed by now because of it.

"Who are you meeting?" Tamaki asked quietly as he stood up.

Haruhi tried not to look Tamaki in the eyes, but she couldn't help it. He looked so hurt right now that her chest gave a little squeeze. They stared at each other for the longest time before Haruhi finally managed to break the eye contact. She glanced at her watch and sighed. "It doesn't matter," she hedged, feeling embarrassed. Then she twiddled her fingers and said shyly, "I still have about an hour to kill, so I guess I can go to the pet store with you. But only if it's really quick!"

Fireworks seemed to explode in Tamaki's eyes. After jumping around in excitement, he grabbed her wrist once again and resumed trying to drag Haruhi down the stairs. "Let's go! Let's go! My Antoinette can hardly wait!"

"Wait, Tamaki!" Haruhi cried, jerking to a halt. "I don't even have my shoes on yet!"

"Eh?" Tamaki turned around and stared at the cheap, fluffy rabbit slippers Haruhi was wearing. Then he looked at Haruhi and gave a small little, "Oops?"

His expression was so laughable that Haruhi couldn't help but giggle. As she trudged back up the stairs, she called over her shoulder, still laughing. "Just let me put on my shoes, and then you can drag me wherever, I guess."

* * *

"HARUHI!"

Haruhi sighed, but she turned away from the googly-eyed goldfish with an amused smile. "Yes, sempai?"

"LOOKIE!" Tamaki gushed, holding out a wriggling ferret.

"It's a ferret. Have you never seen one before?"

"No!" He laughed gleefully. "It almost looks like a little tanuki. Just like my daughter."

"I don't look like a ferret!" Haruhi protested, unable to resist a pout.

"But you do! You do! You're both so cute and adorable," Tamaki said, ruffling Haruhi's hair. But when his attention was preoccupied, the ferret slipped out of his grasp and ran up his arm and all over his body. Tamaki danced around, laughing his head off as the little animal scurried around, tickling him.

Haruhi rolled her eyes and went back to staring at the goldfish. She hadn't gone to a pet store for the heck of it since she was a little girl. Her mother and father would always take her, even though their apartment didn't allow for pets. But here Tamaki was, acting even more child-like than she ever had as a little kid. But for once, it wasn't really overbearing or too annoying to deal with. Being around Tamaki was like a breath of fresh air every now and then.

"I thought we were looking for a buddy for Antoinette," Haruhi stated flatly, loud enough for him to hear.

"But I am!" Tamaki insisted. He finally grabbed a hold of the ferret and placed it back in its pen. "A ferret might be a little two energetic, I guess. It would run circles around Antoinette." Tamaki walked up to Haruhi and the goldfish tank. His eyes were wide and thoughtful.

Haruhi laughed, shaking her head in amusement. "Sempai, unless you're rich enough to provide your dog with a scuba suit, I don't think a goldfish could be her buddy either."

"Oh! Hmm, a scuba suit. That's not a bad idea," Tamaki mused, seriously considering it.

Haruhi looked away in exasperation and muttered, "Rich bastard."

Tamaki soon lost interest in the goldfish, however. He bounced over to the section with the cats. "Look, Haruhi, look!" Tamaki said, getting down on his knees and clinging to the cage in excitement. "What about a cat? Do you think Antoinette would like a cat? Cats act so smart all the time, don't you think?"

"Yeah, but they don't exactly seem like the playful type," Haruhi remarked, bending down as well.

"Those two are pretty active. Look, they must be brothers!" Tamaki exclaimed excitedly, pointing to two orange tabbies that were wrestling in the corner. "Aww, they're playing with each other!"

At the sound of Tamaki's noisy exclamations, the two tabbies' ears twitched, and they glanced over to Haruhi and Tamaki. With narrowed, mischievous amber eyes, they trotted over with their tails in the air. They completely ignored Tamaki and made a beeline for Haruhi. They brushed up against the cage, purring, and jumped up to lick Haruhi's fingers through the cage.

Haruhi smiled. "Aww, they are pretty cute."

But Tamaki gasped in horror. "No way, no way!" he declared, backing away. "They're just like those perverted twins. There's no way that I'll allow them to associate with my darling Antoinette, or my Haruhi!"

"Ehh? I think you're over-reacting," Haruhi said, taking the two tabbies out of the cage. They immediately cuddled up to the girl, purring even louder. Tamaki swore that they both gave him a triumphant, impish glance.

"No, I'm sure! They're such a bad influence, my daughter. Don't touch them!" Tamaki said before stealing them from Haruhi and putting them back in the cage. But not before one of them swiped its claws at Tamaki's hand.

"OW! OW! OW!" Tamaki yelled, stomping around and flailing his arms around. "Hikaru! Hikaru bit me! Those twins have rabies, I say!"

"Shhh! Calm down!" Haruhi said, flustered. She looked around, embarrassed that they were being watched by the others in the store. "Just shut up and let me see!"

"It stings!" Tamaki whined, close to tears as Haruhi examined his fingers.

"Sempai!" Haruhi groaned. "They barely even scratched you." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a band aid. "Jeez, you're such a kid."

Tamaki sniffled as Haruhi wrapped the band aid around his fingers. But almost as soon as she was done, he was running around the store once more at full speed. He pointed out a motionless lizard that looked like Mori, a fluffy bunny like Honey, and even a spasmodic hamster like Renge. Eventually, Haruhi decided to burst his bubble.

"Sempai, if you're looking for a playmate for Antoinette, wouldn't it be smart to look at all the dogs?"

Tamaki gaped at Haruhi for the longest time. Then he gave her a crushing hug. "Ooo! That's my daughter for you! So smart for a commoner!"

"Ta . . .ma . . .ki!" Haruhi gasped out breathlessly with a blush. People were staring at them again. "Let . . . go!"

Tamaki gave her one last squeeze before prancing off towards the puppy section. With a sigh, Haruhi brushed herself off. "Things never do get boring when he's around, do they?" she chuckled to herself. She checked herself out in the reflection of an aquarium and fixed her ruffled hair and askew hair clips. Then she caught herself and quickly dropped her hands to her sides, her back straight. _What does it matter how I look_? Haruhi thought, annoyed with herself. _It's only Tamaki._

"I found one! I found one!" Tamaki called from across the store.

Haruhi peeked around an aisle and saw Tamaki with a terrier clutched in his arms. The puppy yipped happily and wriggled around so that he could lick Tamaki's face. Tamaki laughed, trying to hold the puppy so that it's tongue was out of reach. But he never was quite successful. The sight was so heart-warming that Haruhi felt something melt inside her. _I bet he would be good with kids too,_ she thought to herself. _He's just that kind of person._

"So you found a puppy?" Haruhi asked, returning to Tamaki's side.

"Yep. He's perfect!"

Haruhi giggled and scratched the puppy's ears. His tail started to wag overtime. "What will you name him?" she asked as they headed over to the cashier.

"Mmm, I was thinking Louis, but since he's so small and adorable, it might have to stay as Lou-chan for now."

"It suits him," Haruhi agreed with a nod.

They paid for Lou-chan and headed for the door. "You'll have to come over to my house all the time to play with Lou-chan," Tamaki stated.

"I don't know about that. It would cut into my studying time. I lose so much time already due to the Host Club."

"Aww, but Lou-chan will be so sad if he doesn't get to see you."

Haruhi glanced at the adorable puppy wriggling in Tamaki's arms, and her resolution melted a little. ". . . well, maybe every now and then."

"Oh!" Tamaki exclaimed, catching sight of his watch. "Have we really taken that long? I was having so much fun that time flew by." He looked down at Haruhi. "I'm sorry. It's well past noon. You probably haven't eaten yet, so I'm sure you're hungry."

"Really?" Haruhi glanced down to her stomach and placed her hands on top. She hadn't noticed it grumbling until now. "Don't worry about it. I had a lot of fun too, so I guess I forgot all about eating."

"I know. How about I treat you to lunch? I'm pretty sure I saw a food court in this mall."

"There is. I know a place that sells really good sushi. Mind going there?"

"OH!" Tamaki suddenly gasped, pointing to the store-front window of the pet shop. "Finally! I found mother!"

"Huh?" Haruhi said, throwing him a weird look.

"I'm serious. Look at that black lab in the corner of the window. He's so much like Kyouya. The dog is so sophisticated and cool, just like Kyouya."

"K-kyouya?" she repeated. Slowly, her eyes traveled in the direction Tamaki was pointing in. Indeed, there was a black lab in the pet store's window. But it was lying down listlessly with its head resting on its paws. It was nothing like the hyper puppy they had just bought. Even the lab's tail was utterly motionless.

To Tamaki, the black lab looked sophisticated. To Haruhi, it looked unbearably lonely.

Haruhi ripped her small purse open and searched inside it. Once she found her phone, which she had forgotten was on silent this whole time, she hastily flipped it open. Her heart dropped, and she sucked in her breath.

Thirteen new messages. All from the same number.

Haruhi was running long before she even realized her feet were moving.

"Wait! Haruhi!" Tamaki cried.

Haruhi spun around and started to run backwards. She cupped her hands around her mouth and called, "I'm sorry, sempai! But there's somewhere I need to be! I really am sorry!"

She thought she heard his voice again, but it was drowned out in the noise of the crowded mall. Haruhi turned back around and never glanced over her shoulder again. After jostling and shoving her way through the mall, she finally made it outside. She hailed a taxi and breathlessly spluttered out an address. Then, once her seatbelt was on and the car was moving, she sank back into the seat and exhaled heavily.

_I don't know why I'm making such a big deal out of this. _She thought to herself as she impatiently wiped away a bead of sweat from her forehead. _There's no way he'd still be there. _

_There's no way._

_It's impossible. _

_He won't be there. He won't be there. He won't—_

The breath caught in Haruhi's chest, and her face slowly filled with heat as she peered into small, dimly lit restaurant. (she knew she shouldn't have worn that damn jacket) It was completely empty. Only one table bore any signs of life, as it was covered in empty glasses. And of course, at said table, there was a man waiting with his head propped up with his elbow and his fingers pounding on the table with irritation.

"No way," Haruhi whispered.

* * *

**A/N**: I know it's been extremely long. Please forgive me! Exams are just another word for redrum in my opinion. And I guess I should have made up for my absence by writing a more action-packed chapter. SORRY! But hopefully, now that its the holidays, I can push a good number of chapters through before I go back to school. You guys would like that, huh? I might even do a Christmasy oneshot (but you'll have to excuse me. it's a hikaruXharuhi this time, my other favorite pairing)


	5. Chapter 5

Haruhi gaped at Kyouya, lost in mindless stupor and shock. Fortunately, he never noticed because his back was to the door.

"I'm sorry, dear, but we're closed," a waitress announced too loudly until she got a really good look at the new customer. Or maybe perhaps the waitress simply noticed how Haruhi trembled and cowered in the midst of the murderous aura Kyouya was giving off.

"Ehh?" the waitress said, still too loud. Haruhi noticed that Kyouya was starting to stir at the noise. Haruhi fearfully waved her hands around and tried to signal to the waitress to be quiet, but apparently the waitress was rather dense. "Could you be . . . Fujioka Haruhi?" she asked, peering closer into Haruhi's reddening face.

At the sound of her name, Kyouya finally turned around. A glare on his glasses prevented Haruhi from seeing his eyes, but that just freaked her out even more. She started to consider making a run for it. "Y-yeah," Haruhi stammered. "That's m—"

"Tsk, tsk!" the waitress scolded, tapping Haruhi on the nose. "Where are your manners? Honestly! Making such a hot bishie wait for so long!" Haruhi's blush deepened. The waitress turned around to Kyouya with her nose in the air. "I can't help but feel like you're wasted on her. You still have my number, right?" she asked with a flirtatious wink.

Kyouya didn't respond for the longest time. Then his lips slipped into a crooked grin, one that made the waitress swoon and Haruhi's jaw drop.

_What the heck?_ Haruhi screamed mentally. _He got someone's number when I was gone? I don't know you anymore!_

"Haruhi," Kyouya said with fake pleasantness, speaking for the first time. At his voice, both girls froze. Still smiling, Kyouya gestured towards the empty seat across from him. "Sit," he said, though Haruhi could detect the dangerous air of authority and command in his voice.

"U-uh. N-n-no, I . . . Well," Haruhi stammered nervously, trying to back away towards the door.

"Sit," Kyouya repeated, a little firmer, but Haruhi remained rooted to the spot.

"What are you doing?" the waitress hissed. She got behind Haruhi and shoved her all the way to the table, despite Haruhi's protests. Pretty soon, Haruhi was sitting in the chair opposite of Kyouya, her eyes on her twiddling thumbs as she suffered under Kyouya's gaze.

It was silent for a long time. Just like the car rides every afternoon. Haruhi was drowning in it. Never before had silence been such a tangible thing. It stifled and choked her. She couldn't help but longingly think back to the piano that played so sweetly. Actually, any form of music would be preferable at the moment. Even her father's old Japanese folk songs that he sung so tunelessly in the shower would be like a lifeline to Haruhi.

Haruhi lifted her eyes up for a second, only to hurriedly lower them again, flustered by the way Kyouya stared at her.

"Do I need to call upon my secret police?" Kyouya said, breaking the silence.

"H-huh?" Haruhi stuttered, bemused.

Kyouya swirled his straw around in his half-full soda, letting the ice clink gently against the glass. But he never removed his eyes from her, not even for one second. "What I mean to say was, were you mugged or held up by anyone?"

Haruhi felt something sink inside of her. "No."

"Has your father gotten in trouble with some loan sharks, and they kicked you out today?"

"No."

"Did some idiotic, drunk taxi driver take you to the complete opposite side of town or got in a wreck, causing you to have to be taken to the hospital?"

". . . no."

"Then why were you nearly two hours late?" he asked slowly with a slight edge in his voice.

Haruhi's bottom lip quivered, and then she hastily bowed. "I'm truly sorry, Kyouya. I know I let you down."

Maybe her sincerity struck a chord deep within Kyouya. He shifted, and the glare to his glasses finally went away, revealing eyes that were not angry, just a little tired. "I'm not mad at you, Haruhi," he sighed, leaning back into his chair.

"I was with Tamaki-sempai!" she blurted out, still bowed over.

Kyouya's eyes widened. "Tamaki? Why were you with Tamaki?"

She timidly lifted her head a few degrees, just enough to show Kyouya a wry grin. "He was just being an idiot as usual. Nothing big. He wanted me to accompany him to the pet store since he's apparently incapable of behaving himself in there."

Kyouya's mouth set in a straight line at this news. Images of Tamaki and Haruhi laughing together flooded his head. So the blond was still beating him, even now? Even after all the effort Kyouya had expended to arrange a date with the dense Haruhi, Tamaki could just show up at her doorstep and drag her wherever he wanted. Kyouya wished to know where Tamaki got such confidence and skill from. It would make things so much easier.

"Did you have fun?" Kyouya asked flintily. He gripped his drink a little tighter.

"Yes," Haruhi sighed.

"Oh? What's this? You don't sound like you had fun at all," Kyouya remarked, folding his arms.

"No, it was fun," Haruhi mumbled. "I just sort of . . . realized something."

Something? Like what? Kyouya cleared his throat and tried not to show his curiosity. Fortunately for him, Haruhi clarified anyway.

"Daughter this, daughter that," Haruhi huffed. "No matter what I do, Tamaki only sees me as his daughter, which doesn't even make sense." During the excruciatingly long taxi ride, Haruhi had thought about a lot of things. Mostly about how Kyouya would react to her tardiness, but also all the things that had recently happened between her and Tamaki. A heavy frown tugged at the corners of her mouth.

Kyouya raised his eyebrows slightly. This wasn't quite what he was expecting. "Do you like Tamaki, Haruhi?" Kyouya questioned.

Haruhi met his eyes warily. "I used to think so before, but now . . ." She blushed and averted her eyes in a sudden show of shyness.

Kyouya wanted to prod her further for information, but at the same time, he dreaded to hear her answer. So he simply pushed the menu towards her. "I ate lunch a long time ago, waiting for you, but do you want something?" Kyouya paused, and then he narrowed his eyes a little. "Or did you eat with Tamaki?"

Her stomach took the cue and chose that moment to growl loudly. Haruhi eagerly snatched the menu and perused through the selections. When the waitress came back, she quickly ordered and handed the menu back. Then the unlikely couple fell into silence again.

"It's so empty in here," Haruhi remarked, mainly just to drive the unbearable quiet away.

"That's because it's closed."

"But it can't be closed. We're here, aren't we?"

"I bought the restaurant out for the day, so that we would be all alone."

_Rich bastard, _she thought to herself. And then aloud, she stammered, "O-oh." The heat was really starting to get to her. She finally just took the jacket off, but strangely, the warmth didn't disappear from her cheeks. Maybe there was just no air conditioning in this place. "R-right. All alone." Then she exhaled and slumped over. "It's always like that."

"What do you mean?" Kyouya asked curiously.

"Well, we always have to be alone, don't we? Even at the host club, you don't open up to me unless everyone's gone. Are you . . ." Haruhi trailed off, swallowed, and then asked a question that had also been bugging her throughout the taxi ride. "Are you perhaps ashamed of associating with a commoner like this?"

"Is that what you think?" Kyouya replied, cocking his eyebrow. He propped his head up with an elbow and stared at her intently. His finger reached out tentatively to stroke Haruhi's hands which were resting so innocently on the table. "I assure you, I would never be ashamed of being with you, and I'll never regret it either."

At his touch, electricity shocked her hand, and Haruhi jerked it back. "Then why—?"

"Because sometimes it's better when they don't know," Kyouya said with a sly smirk. He reached out and trapped Haruhi's hands under his. Haruhi struggled for a bit before relaxing. His touch stung at first, but she slowly got used to the prickling in her skin. It was a good kind of prickling, she found. "Besides, isn't it more comfortable when we aren't being watched? Nobody has their eyes on us. We can do whatever we want." His voice sent goosebumps up her arms. "When you're rich and famous, you find that it's quite nice to escape the cameras every now and then. Drop the mask and formalities, you know. With you, I can do that."

His thumbs were stroking her hands now. It was incredibly distracting. She wished he would stop before she accidentally said something mortifying without thinking. "Hey, Kyouya?" Haruhi asked after a while.

"Hmm?"

"Do you think of me as your daughter?"

Kyouya made a face. "Please don't compare me to that idiot. Just thinking about him and his ridiculous antics makes me lose a few brain cells."

Haruhi chuckled. "I know, right?" Then the chuckles died. "I just wanted to make sure, because you haven't technically answered my question yet."

"About . . . ?"

"What are we? What am I to you?"

Kyouya sucked in his breath. Here he was. This could break him or make him. How in the world would Tamaki proceed? No doubt he would do it with his innate grace and charm. Heck, if the blond hadn't been so stupid he would have won Haruhi over a long time ago, and then Kyouya never would have been given the chance, no matter how slim.

"Am I supposed to answer 'whatever you want us to be', or am I supposed to tell you what I really want?"

Haruhi's heartbeat was starting to race, but she matched his cool tone. "The latter, preferably."

Kyouya didn't respond. Then he chuckled and shook his head. "And here I thought I was trying so hard to take your advice and be more open. I suppose my piano playing still sucks then, huh?"

"No! You playing the piano is one of the most beautiful things in the world," Haruhi blurted out, then shrank back in embarrassment.

"But apparently, it's still not good enough." Kyouya started to lean over the table. He hands tightened over hers, anchoring her in place. "Shall I be even more obvious?"

Haruhi's eyes widened. "Wait," she gasped, her heart fluttering frantically in her chest.

"Oh no you don't," Kyouya muttered, getting closer still. "You owe me for being so late."

Haruhi's cheeks turned redder still, and she closed her eyes . . .

But then something smacked the table. Kyouya and Haruhi looked up. The waitress had reappeared with Haruhi's order. She wore a sour expression. "Sorry to interrupt," she said, though she didn't sound sorry at all. Then she strutted away in her noisy high heels.

Haruhi took big gulps of her soda, hoping that it might cool her down. Strangely, Kyouya was chuckling again. "I don't know what she's thinking," Kyouya said amusedly. "You're obviously much cuter than _that _old hag with the heavy make-up."

At the sound of the word "cute," Haruhi suddenly choked on her soda and spluttered. She felt it burning up her nose, and she pinched her nose quickly, hoping that it wouldn't come out. That would just be the icing to the mortification cake.

"Are you alright?" Kyouya asked in a sickly sweet voice. He held out a napkin, which Haruhi took gratefully. She coughed a couple of times and wiped her mouth.

"Thanks, I—" But then she broke off, her eye twitching. "What the heck is this!" Haruhi half-shouted.

"What?" Kyouya asked with a too-innocent grin.

Haruhi waved the napkin around furiously. "_This_! What is _this_?" she exclaimed. "Don't just call a girl cute and then hand her a napkin with the waitress's phone number on it!"

Kyouya laughed out loud. "What's this? Are you jealous, Haruhi?" he asked.

Haruhi flushed and then returned to chugging her drink. Once finished, she slammed the glass down with a satisfying smack, blanked out her expression, and said emotionlessly, "Of course not."

"I don't know. You seemed pretty jealous to me."

"You're mistaken," Haruhi muttered as she began to eat her pasta.

Kyouya laughed again, a little softer this time. Haruhi couldn't help but smile at him. _When he's like this, he isn't so bad to be around either,_ she thought to herself fondly, twirling the pasta around her fork.

* * *

"Ahhh, I suddenly feel so exhausted," Haruhi sighed as they both made their way to Kyouya's limo.

"How rude. Shouldn't you be thanking me for the great time you had?" Kyouya remarked, opening the door for her.

"Uhhh . . . ?" Haruhi said, which made Kyouya stop and stare at her. But then Haruhi laughed it off. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I really did have a good time . . . after you stopped giving me death glares," she added once he climbed in the limo as well.

Kyouya scowled at her. "I never gave you death glares."

"You did too!"

"Anyway," Kyouya said, tactfully steering the conversation around. "Did you have more fun than you did with Tamaki?"

The question caught Haruhi off guard. Not knowing what to say, she only laughed weakly.

Kyouya rolled his eyes at her. "You truly are rude. Not only do you show up extremely late, but you also force me to pay for you because you forgot your wallet at home. Just because I'm rich, do you think you can take advantage of me? At the very least shower me with compliments or something."

"I'll make it up to you," an upset Haruhi insisted. She looked away, feeling a little down as she muttered miserably, "I guess you can add it to my already climbing debt."

"Nope," Kyouya replied immediately, earning him a wary, curious glance from Haruhi.

"What was that?"

"I'm not going to add it to your host club debt," Kyouya explained matter-of-factly.

Haruhi breathed a sigh of relief and sank a few inches in her chair giddily.

"Instead, I'm going to add it to a new debt."

"WHAT!" Haruhi exclaimed, sitting straight.

Kyouya flashed her a crooked grin. "You now have a new debt, a personal debt with me."

"You're lying," Haruhi whimpered, numbers and yen signs already whirling around in her head. Ahhh, would she ever be free from debt?

"Only this debt is different. This time, I demand you pay me back right away. You certainly couldn't afford to pay off the steep interest."

"Eh? I told you I forgot my wallet at home," Haruhi sulked.

"Really?" Kyouya asked a little too innocently. "Then I guess you'll have to pay some other way."

"Oh look. My apartment," Haruhi declared cluelessly. "We're here." Her fingers reached for the door's lock.

Before Haruhi could react, Kyouya grabbed her shoulders and pulled her away from the door. With a hand on her chin, Kyouya gently but firmly lifted her face so that he could reach her lips. Haruhi gasped and nearly fell over due to the fact that her seat belt was still constraining her. The two teens clumsily undid their seat belts and latched onto each other once more. The space in the middle seat, the space that had always separated them before in the limo, it was finally filled. There was no space whatsoever. Kyouya made sure of that. Haruhi couldn't think straight. Everything was whirling around her so dizzily that at one point she lost her balance. She felt her back hit the seat, but more importantly, she felt Kyouya hovering right over her in a not so gentlemanly position. With a squeak, Haruhi finally regained some of her senses and pressed her hands against his chest, stopping him.

They both panted for a while, a little woozy after what had just happened. Haruhi noticed that Kyouya never actually moved away from her, just like the fact that her hands still lingered on his chest was not lost on Kyouya. "You asked me how I thought of you? Simple," he said. He leaned a little closer and kissed the top of Haruhi's forehead. His warm breath washed over Haruhi's face.

"You are mine."

* * *

**A/N:** There were a few of you who weren't quite pleased with the last chapter because there was too much Tamaki. Does this please you and your inner fangirl cravings? ;D Sometimes you just have to throw little comparisons in there in order to show who the superior pairing is, ne?


	6. Chapter 6

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Haruhi called breathlessly. She finally made it to the table where the twins and their hosts were sitting. "You all wanted instant coffee, right?"

"Yes!" chirped the clients with excited giggles.

"Hey Haruhi," Hikaru asked as their only female host set down the cups. "I noticed it before in class, but you don't seem to be feeling well. Is something on your mind?"

"Ehhh? Haruhi-kun! You're not sick, are you?" one of the clients piped up worriedly.

But Haruhi dismissed them all with a sheepish smile and straightened up. She scratched the back of her head. "Oh no. I'm perfectly healthy. It seems I'm just a little out of it today. I'm sorry to have made you all worry." And then her "rookie" smile turned on to full power, making the girls swoon.

Haruhi bowed and started to turn away, but then Hikaru grabbed her hand and made her sit down on the couch next to him. He placed a hand on her forehead. "Are you sure you don't have a fever or anything? You're always in a daze, it seems." Then he held her face in both his hands. "Don't worry me like this."

"Hikaru!" Kaoru gasped, clapping his hands to his mouth. "What is this? Have you been cheating on me with another guy?"

"Eh?" Hikaru exclaimed and automatically shifted back to Kaoru's side. He embraced his twin, and with tears in his eyes he declared, "Kaoru, how could you ever come to doubt me? Surely you believe those words I whisper in your ear every night before we fall asleep? Or shall I say them more and more often?"

Haruhi sighed and looked the other way, somewhat disturbed.

"Wait! Is Haruhi-kun jealous?" one girl whispered to her friend.

"Just look at him! He can't bear to look at the twin's overwhelming love!"

"Perhaps could this mean . . . a love triangle!" they gasped to themselves.

"Here, Haruhi. Say 'ahhh'," Hikaru said, poising a cookie in front of her mouth.

"I don't want any," Haruhi replied bluntly, tired with their antics.

"Look, look! And now he's getting upset because Hikaru had forgotten about him for even a moment! Poor, Haruhi!" a girl squeaked.

"But Hikaru's trying his best to make it up to him!" said another.

"But you need your strength!" Hikaru insisted. "You can't afford to get sick now."

"Hikaru's right," Kaoru said getting up so that he could sit on Haruhi's other side. She was trapped between them now, and she had a rather resigned feeling that something was up. "What are you going to do if you get sick during the big Physics test?"

It was quiet for a long moment. And then.

". . . . Eh?" Haruhi stated blankly.

"EH? WHAT DO YOU MEAN EH?" Hikaru shouted.

"HARUHI NEVER FORGETS ABOUT TESTS! YOU REALLY ARE SICK AFTER ALL!" Kaoru exclaimed.

"DON'T WORRY HARUHI! WE'LL TAKE CARE OF YOU! EVEN ON YOUR DEATH BED!" the twins cried together before latching onto her and cuddling up with her sympathetically, muttering things like "poor guy" and "it'll be alright."

"No! It's not even a love triangle!" one girl said, jumping to her feet with sparkling eyes. "It's a THREESOME!"

"KYAAA! How lovely!" All the girls shrieked, and they all would have suffered through nosebleeds and fainted had it not been for one stern voice to break through all the idiocy.

"Haruhi," an icy voice called from across the room.

The twins froze. Then they immediately released Haruhi and retreated to the opposite sides of the couch. "Ooo, Haruhi's in trouble!" Hikaru mocked in a hushed voice like a five-year-old.

"Kyouya's so scary! Hey, Haruhi. If you die, can I get all your notes?" Kaoru asked in a whisper.

"I'm not gonna die!" Haruhi huffed in exasperation. But of course, the minute she took three steps, all her confidence melted away. A huge knot formed in Haruhi's stomach, and she had to swallow hard a couple of times before she could continue on. Dang! Why did Kyouya have to be sitting in the shadowy corner all the way across the room like this? What did he want? Ahh, the suspense was killing her!

"Haruhi?" he said again, making her jump. She hadn't realized that she had already reached his desk. The twins weren't kidding. She really _was_ spacey today.

"Y-yes!" Haruhi squeaked .

Kyouya stared at her. Then he turned his eyes up to the ceiling and tapped his chin in thought. "Hmm, it seems I forgot why I called you over here," Kyouya remarked a little too innocently.

"Huh?" Haruhi stammered. She stood there like a moron for a few minutes as it slowly dawned on her. "Oh! Thank you very much!" she exclaimed, falling into a bow.

Kyouya cocked his eyebrows and resumed typing on the laptop. "For what?"

"Just now, you were trying to save me from the twins, right?"

"And why would I do something like that? It holds no merit for me." But Haruhi saw the way he was fighting back a satisfied smirk.

"Jeez, why do you have to act all cool and mysterious all the time?" Haruhi laughed, reaching out to nudge his shoulder playfully. But then she caught herself, and she quickly dropped her hand back to her side, clearing her throat.

"Haruhi," Kyouya said after a period of silence.

"Yes?" Haruhi replied with an eager smile.

He looked up at her, his glasses glared. "Why are you still standing here? Don't you have work?"

"Eh?" Haruhi exclaimed. "Ah! I forgot! Bye Kyouya!" And she dashed off to bring refreshments to the other customers.

Kyouya watched her go and then turned back to the laptop, where numbers and figures and pie charts (oh my!) greeted him. "I wasn't being serious," he grumbled. "You could have stayed if you wanted to."

* * *

"What were you two thinking! You know I don't like being included in your ridiculous 'acts'!" Haruhi scolded.

Both twins lifted their hands up in defense. "We couldn't help it. You've been so out of it all day. You just looked too cute to pass up!"

"That's not the point! I'm not your toy!" Haruhi insisted.

"You fiends! Stop molesting my daughter!" Tamaki screeched, somehow jumping down from the ceiling and leaping down on the twins.

"Tono! How did you get up there?"

"With the super mega awesome might of a daddy's love, that's how!" Tamaki shouted, wrestling with the two twins.

"Ughhh," Haruhi sighed, rubbing her temples.

"Are these two devils bothering you? I'll take them outside for you! I'll be right back!" Tamaki sang as he dragged the two twins out the door.

"What are you doing? You can't just kick us out!" Hikaru yelled.

"I'm giving you both a time-out for doing perverted things to my daughter. Look at how troubled her expression is right now!"

"We're not five!" Kaoru protested, trying to wriggle out of Tamaki's grasp. "Besides! If she's troubled it's because she finally remembered about the Physics test from all this time!" But it turned out that Tamaki's power of daddy love had some legitimacy after all. Even though it was two to one, and Tamaki was no Honey-sempai, the host club king was able to drag the two twins all the way out of the room.

Haruhi sighed again. "I wonder how long it will stay quiet this time."

A hand brushed against her back, sending electricity coursing down her body. "We could run away, if you want," someone whispered in her ear.

Haruhi's head snapped to the right. Kyouya was gazing down at her, waiting for her reaction. But she was still too shocked from his sudden appearance, so she couldn't speak. His touch sent her back into the sweet tones of reminiscence, and scenes of them in the limo overwhelmed her for a moment.

Seeing that he wasn't going to get a coherent answer anytime soon, Kyouya let his hand drop, and he took a step back. "I overheard. You forgot to study for your Physics test this weekend?"

Haruhi could only manage to nod a couple of times. Truthfully, she had been lost in a daydream pretty much throughout the entire weekend after meeting with Kyouya, a fact that she admitted grudgingly to herself, because it seemed like something much too girly for her to be doing. At one point, she even almost set the house on fire because she spaced out while cooking. Her dad had been giving her wary looks every time she approached the stove ever since.

"Club activities are over anyway," Kyouya remarked, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "If we escape now, before they return, we could probably reach my limo in time. We could go to my house to study."

Haruhi flushed. Something held her back. House meant bedrooms. And bedrooms meant beds. Ahh, wait! Why was she thinking along those lines? She trusted Kyouya to be a gentleman. What did she have to worry about? It was only studying after all. Plus, it would be the perfect chance to slip away from all the noise and antics of the other host club members.

Haruhi forced out a laugh, trying to act natural. "That would be great, thanks! Truthfully, I usually study about a week in advance for big tests like this. I don't know what got into me to forget like that." Then she clapped her hand to her mouth, cursing herself. Why did she say that? She probably sounded like such a nerd just then.

But to her surprise, Kyouya smiled softly. "Yeah, I usually do the same thing."

"_Really?_" Haruhi said as they walked out of the music room. "You always struck me as one of those genius types who never have to study at all."

"Over-confidence like that gets you ranked number 2 instead of number 1. Even I work for my grades. But thanks for the compliment."

Haruhi chuckled again, but it quickly died. Her eyes unconsciously drifted over to Kyouya's hands, which were still stuffed in his pockets. Her own were bumping along at her sides, feeling somewhat small and empty. After a while, Kyouya caught her stare, causing Haruhi to blush and look the other way. But Kyouya simply smirked in amusement. Haruhi felt his hand enclose around hers, and then a smile twisted onto her lips as well. Nothing more was said, but then, why did there need to be? Haruhi was slowly becoming accustomed to the silence. It was a comfortable quiet now, as long as her hand was trapped in his warm grip.

* * *

**A/N:** Someone once reviewed and said that they wanted to see Kyouya and Haruhi studying together. Well, here we go! I know that this chapter was a little short, but I promise to make it up to everyone in the next chapter. Be grateful! I was in the middle of working on a different fanfic, but I decided to post one more chapter here before finishing the other one. (well, more like i'm having a slight writer's block with the other one, but don't tell anyone!)

Ah, Haruhi's going over to Kyouya's house. I wonder how his family will react to her . . . ? ;D You'll just have to wait I suppose.


	7. Chapter 7

"P1/T1=P2/T2," Kyouya called out emotionlessly as he gazed at the textbook in his lap.

"Mmm," Haruhi said, tapping her pencil against the floor. "It's that weird one, uhhh . . . Gay-Lussac's law?"

"Correct," Kyouya stated, pausing for a moment to flash Haruhi a congratulatory smile.

They were in one of Kyouya's many living rooms. Just as Haruhi had expected, she had been slightly unnerved by the sheer, unnecessary size of Kyouya's mansion. But it was rather tasteful, Haruhi had to admit. It had a very modern feel to it. At the moment, Haruhi was lying on her stomach, on top of white carpeting that was almost softer than her own bed, much to her chagrin. Kyouya was a couple feet away, sitting with his back against the wall. And scattered between them was an array of notes and textbooks and CliffsNotes.

"CliffsNotes?" Haruhi had asked curiously when she saw it.

Kyouya had merely adjusted his glasses and replied, unperturbed, "Not for cheating purposes, I assure you. But they're good for last minute cramming, don't you agree?"

Haruhi had laughed then, because she never would have guessed Kyouya would own something like that.

"Hey, whatever method works," Kyouya replied with a shrug. "Intelligence means you use your resources."

The sound of Kyouya flipping through the chapter brought Haruhi back to the present. She glanced over at him just as he was clearing his throat. "Alright, name the four characteristics of the kinetic theory of gases."

"Let's see," Haruhi mused thoughtfully, and she rolled over onto her back, gazing at the spotless ceiling. Really, there weren't even the smallest hint of cobwebs, not even in the far corners. Haruhi wondered if the maids got on ladders every morning to clean the ceiling. "Hmmm, well they have to be in thermal equilibrium with its container. The gas molecules always collide elastically. Uh, the net velocity of all the gas molecules is zero, and . . . oh shoot. What was the last one? Hold on, I think it's the one where the molecules are separated by distances much larger than their own diameter. So there's a lot of space. Right?" Haruhi asked, glancing over at Kyouya when he didn't respond right away. But then she realized that he was staring at her, a glare on his glasses shielding his eyes.

"What?" Haruhi asked, feeling self-conscious.

Kyouya finally snapped out of it, and he let out a sigh. "Honestly, Haruhi." Kyouya reached over and tugged the hem of her shirt down so that it covered her slightly exposed belly. "Let's keep our shirt down, shall we?"

But when his fingers accidentally brushed against her skin, Haruhi jerked back with a giggle. Kyouya cocked an eyebrow at her while she clapped her hand over her mouth, flushing in mortification. "Are you seriously that ticklish?" Kyouya asked.

"No!" Haruhi said a little too quickly. She rolled over on her side so that she was facing away from Kyouya. "Jeez, Kyouya. Was my answer right or not? I really need to study."

Blankly, Kyouya lifted his hand, and then he jabbed Haruhi in the side. Haruhi jumped and let out a squeal.

"Kyouya, stop it already!" Haruhi protested as she scrambled into a sitting position. But her wide eyes slightly dampened her anger. Actually, her little pout was sort of cute.

"Aww, is someone getting a little frustrated?" Kyouya mocked playfully as he scooted closer.

Haruhi frowned, and her eyebrows knitted together. "You wouldn't dare," she said slowly.

Kyouya flashed her a crooked grin before grabbing her. Haruhi gasped and struggled to get away, but Kyouya only dragged her back. He tickled her without mercy, and Haruhi squirmed and laughed her head off.

"Kyouya, why's it so loud in here?" a beautiful, black haired woman called as she walked in the living room. But then she caught sight of Haruhi, pinned underneath Kyouya.

No one moved for the longest time as a blanket of awkwardness smothered the scene . . .

But naturally, Kyouya was the first to recover. He cleared his throat and said, "Fuyumi, what are you doing here?"

Fuyumi didn't answer. She eyes traveled back and forth between Kyouya and Haruhi quizzically.

"We were just studying!" Haruhi stammered, feeling flustered and hot. She shoved Kyouya off of her, who relented without a word.

"Studying what, I wonder?" Fuyumi said, a touch dryly. "And please don't say something cheesy, like Chemistry."

"Physics, actually," Kyouya said, sounding just as dry as he fixed his askew glasses.

There was another lapse of uncomfortable silence. But then Haruhi's ringtone went off. Haruhi immediately jumped up in relief. "Excuse me," she said with a hasty bow before walking out of the room, pulling out her cellphone.

Once Haruhi was gone, Fuyumi let out a sigh and sat on the couch. She crossed her legs and smiled at Kyouya. "Well, well, little brother. It's not like you to bring girls home. Don't tell me the hormones are finally starting to kick in," she teased.

"You really should do something about that vulgar mind," Kyouya stated coolly as he gathered up Haruhi's notes and books into a neat pile. "Let me ask again. Why are you here? It's not often that your husband lets you out of the house."

Fuyumi pouted. "What's this? Do you not want your beloved sister around?"

"I'm just surprised is all."

"Because you were in the middle of something?" she asked with a glint in her eye, which earned her a dangerous glare from Kyouya.

Fuyumi laughed it off and said, "Relax, relax, I'll be a good girl now. Anyway, Father called the house. He said that he wanted to hold a family dinner tonight."

Kyouya blinked in surprise. "Tonight? I thought he had an important meeting tonight."

"That's what I had thought too, but apparently the prime minister is sick with the flu. So the appointment was postponed." Fuyumi rested her chin in her hands. "But it's better this way, isn't it? After all, Father's birthday is in a few days. Now we actually get to celebrate it as a family before we actually have the real party."

"Please. Celebrate it how exactly?" Kyouya muttered. "Dinner's just going to be a strain as usual." He took off his glasses a rubbed his face, suddenly feeling tired. "Damn, I was counting on everyone being gone for the rest of the evening."

"Oh really?" Fuyumi replied in amusement. "By the way, that girl . . . she's not your girlfriend, is she?"

"And if she is?" Kyouya said offhandedly.

There was a short, grim pause. "Does Father know?"

"The only one who knows as of right now is you. So let's keep our mouth shut, shall we?"

Fuyumi whistled. "You're being awfully daring, little brother."

Kyouya didn't comment.

Fuyumi got off the sofa with a sigh and walked around the room. She examined a particular oil painting on the wall with exaggerated interest, even though it had been hanging in the same exact spot for well over five years. Meanwhile, Kyouya just flipped absent-mindedly through the books, wishing Haruhi would hurry up with her phone call.

"Maybe this isn't my place to say this," Fuyumi mumbled after a while.

"Just let it out. You know I value your opinion," Kyouya stated, never lifting his eyes from the book.

"I think you should break up with that girl at the next most convenient moment."

With his jaw-clenched, Kyouya casually replied, "And what makes you say that?"

Fuyumi turned around abruptly, her face worried. "Oh, don't take it that way, Kyouya," she pleaded. "You know I've always wanted you to be happy, but doesn't this seem a little wrong?"

"I'll protect her. Why else do you think I haven't told anyone?" Kyouya stated with a slight edge to his voice.

"Don't talk as if nobody could ever understand. I've gone through the same exact thing as you. Falling in love with a nobody. It's a wonderful feeling, but no matter how hard you struggle, eventually word gets out. And when it did, Father did everything in his power to ruin my beloved's life. And now I'm married to man that I barely knew before the wedding. I've heard rumors that the man I used to love, he grew so depressed that he committed suicide. Do you want that for that girl?"

"Look, her name's Haruhi," Kyouya sighed, running a hand through his bangs. "Her name's Haruhi. Not 'that girl', Fuyumi." Then he added, mostly to himself, "I would have thought that you of all people would be most supportive."

"You know that Father has already started looking around for a girl suitable for you, Kyouya. Before you know it, you'll be going to matchmaker dates!" Fuyumi insisted, her voice starting to rise.

"I've already told myself that I don't care about all of that anymore."

"Why?"

Kyouya looked away, narrowing his eyes. "Because I don't want to let that idiot win. I'm tired of letting him win all the time," he said quietly. Kyouya got up and walked out to find Haruhi. Fuyumi watched him go miserably, feeling a knot of apprehension lodged in her chest.

~*~*~

"And I really wanted to surprise you too, since I got off of work so early. Just where are you anyway, Haruhi?" Ranka whined.

Haruhi hesitated before confidently lying into the phone, "Hikaru and Kaoru dragged me over to their place as usual. They wanted me to try on some designs they created themselves. It's no big deal. I didn't tell you because I thought I'd be home before you got back."

"Well, come home soon. I'm even cooking dinner! It's all of your favorites!" Ranka exclaimed excitedly.

Haruhi smiled softly. "Alright, Dad. I'll be there soon."

She hung up and let out a breath. It felt weird lying to her dad like that. There really had been no reason to. Why had she done it?

"Never mind. I have to get back to Kyouya . . . and explain myself to Fuyumi," Haruhi said to herself, wincing in reluctance. But then she got a good look at the dim hallway . . . and the several hundred doors lining it. Haruhi sweat-dropped. "Just where did I come from again? This excess is so ridiculous."

Haruhi crept down the hall, wearing a perplexed frown as she tried to search for some familiar mark. "Ummm, I think it's this door," she said, tentatively opening it and slipping inside. She flicked on the lights and sagged in disappointment. No. Wrong room. It was just a study. Haruhi was about to turn to leave, but then she noticed the several bookshelves in the corner. Curiously, she walked over and examined the titles. A lot of them were thick nonfiction books, dealing mainly with the medical field. But there were also some pleasure books. Haruhi smiled when she recognized some classics. She even spotted, to her amusement, a romance novel wedged mercilessly between two encyclopedias.

"I wonder if this is Kyouya's study," Haruhi mused.

She heard footsteps coming from down the hall. Haruhi hurried for the door, thinking it was Kyouya. She wanted to tease him about that particular romance novel. But the person Haruhi accidentally ran into wasn't Kyouya. It wasn't that woman either, Fuyumi. Haruhi didn't recognize him. He wore a crisp suit and towered over her. Maybe he was a butler?

"Excuse me! I'm very sorry," Haruhi apologized, bowing swiftly. Face flushed, Haruhi moved past the man and rushed out into the hall. Luckily, she found Kyouya not too far away. He seemed to have been looking for her as well. When he saw her, his expression turned relieved.

"Where were you?" he asked.

Haruhi laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of her head. "I got a little lost. Is it really necessary to have so many rooms down one hallway? Rich bastard."

They continued to talk as Kyouya led her back to the living room. The man Haruhi had run into watched them from the doorway. He cocked his eyebrow, and his glasses flashed. "Little brother brought a girl home?" the man muttered to himself. He loosened his tie and sighed. "That's something worth checking into."

~*~*~

"I'm sorry I have to leave so suddenly," Haruhi said as she picked up her books. She struggled slightly, since there were so many.

Kyouya rolled his eyes and stole them all from her. "I'll carry those for you," he told her firmly.

"It's fine. I can handle it."

"I insist."

Haruhi frowned, feeling empty-handed and useless. Kyouya's chivalry got to be a little exhausting at times. But then he cocked his eyebrow at her, and Haruhi laughed at his funny expression.

"But perhaps it's better you're leaving now," Kyouya remarked lightly as he lead her through the mansion. "Apparently we're having a family dinner tonight that no one bothered to tell me about."

Haruhi let her eyes wander, only half-listening. But then something caught her attention, and she stopped. Kyouya heard her soft exclamation and realized she wasn't by his side anymore. He turned around and threw her an expectant look, but she didn't see.

"It's another piano," Haruhi said, shuffling up to the white beauty, her eyes shining. She beamed at Kyouya, barely able to contain her eagerness. "Have I told you that I've been trying to get my cousin who lives nearby to teach me? Ahh, but I don't get to practice often, because I'm always so busy with studying."

Kyouya chuckled at her excitement. "Really?"

"Would you like to hear a song?" Without waiting for an answer, Haruhi lifted the cover and prepared herself. Positioning her fingers alone seemed to take all of her focus. Kyouya just smirked and set the books down as Haruhi tapped out a very simple melody with deliberate slowness.

"So when are you going to start playing the song? Or was this pathetic excuse for music what you were talking about?"

Haruhi paused for a moment to stick her tongue out at Kyouya. "It's 'Chopsticks'! Everyone has to start somewhere!"

"Not me. I was playing Beethoven from the minute I was born," Kyouya said, sliding next to her.

"Well, excuse me for not meeting the expectations of a musical genius," Haruhi huffed teasingly.

Then she resumed again, her brow furrowed as she concentrated hard. Kyouya watched her in amusement, occasionally shaking his head in wonder. He gently brushed the bangs out of her eyes so she could see the keys better. Then he leaned in to kiss her soft cheek. The music stopped abruptly as Haruhi froze. Kyouya couldn't resist a smirk; he loved having this sort of effect on her. To Kyouya, it just made Haruhi that much more his.

While his hands slid down the curve of her hips, his lips trailed down the curve of her cheek and found themselves right underneath her jawline. He might have even got a little rougher, but then Haruhi gasped and pushed Kyouya away slightly, her face completely red in embarrassment. But Kyouya would have none of that. He pulled her back into a tight hug, trapping her. "Sorry, sorry," he chuckled breathily in her ear. He rocked her gently. "Too fast?"

"N-no," Haruhi stammered. "But what if someone catches us again?"

"Forget them. Who cares what they think?" Kyouya replied. He kissed the top of her head and added in a low murmur, "I'll never give you up." But nonetheless, after another minute he reluctantly released her. And when Haruhi curiously looked up at him with those big brown eyes, Kyouya felt a gnawing sense of guilt inside.

* * *

**A/N:** Ahhhh, how long has it been? Sorry, I usually don't take this long to update. But every weekend I've had a bunch of crap to take care of, not to mention that my brother's gotten into the bad habit of hogging the laptop all the time. I'd say I'll try to do better next time, but that might be a lie. Because I have auditions and interviews all next week, so the odds of me updating within a week is pretty much nill. I'm sorry. Maybe if I scrounge up enough time, I can post a quick drabble or something to curb everyone's appetites?

And before I end this, I just wanted to thank everyone who's reviewed so far. I don't think I've ever gotten so many reviews before on one story. It really means a bunch, you guys. It would be great if I could crack a hundred reviews before I end this, but (cough) I'm not pressuring you or anything (cough, cough). :P


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Alright, you guys. Here is where I give my incredibly long (and probably still unforgivable) apology. Yes, I acknowledge the fact that I haven't updated in months. And yes, I acknowledge the fact that half of it was due to my stubborn laziness. But I do have a life, and therefore I had other reasons as well. This year, in just one class alone, I had to write 40+ essays (use your imagination for the crap i had to do for all the other classes) I've gone through four different national testing/exam weeks in the last semester. I've been in two major performance productions at my school. And to top it all off, quite frankly I lost my desire to write this story after several less-than-pleased reviews and an incident where some loser kept stealing and copying my work (especially my kyoharu fanfics).

To be honest, I almost regret extending this story beyond a two shot. I'm half tempted to just delete all of these chapters . . . or at the very least snip some of the cuter scenes and post them as separate oneshots.

But the problem is, this is the first story I've written that has ever made it to 100 reviews. So I feel like I owe you guys a lot. Therefore, I'll make it your decision. If you want me to continue, tell me and I'll keep it going (even if I have to ducktape my butt to the computer chair and invest in a small coffee maker) If you'd rather not listen to what may potentially be a bunch of rambling fluff (though I will say, I DO know how I'm going to end it, so it won't be TOO rambly . . . maybe) tell me and I'll turn this back into a two-shot. It's all up to you. And if I don't get reviews at all, I'll just assume that that means you don't want more.

Now . . . as an apology for listening to my overly long and pathetic apology . . . I decided to get my act together and post a little tidbit. It's much shorter than usual, but it may take me a while to get back into the swing of things.

* * *

Something tickled Haruhi's cheek. She opened her eyes, feeling disoriented for a moment when she saw a scene of a sunny beach even though it was almost the end of autumn. But then she realized that it was only the television playing in a dark living room. Her living room.

"It's getting late. Your dad will be here soon."

Groggily, Haruhi rolled onto her back and found herself looking up into Kyouya's face. She must have fallen asleep, using Kyouya's lap as a pillow.

"How long was I out?" she asked. Her head still felt fuzzy and warm with sleep, and without thinking of much of anything, she reached out a hand and stroked Kyouya's cheek.

Kyouya stiffened a little in surprise, but only for a moment. "Approximately two and a half hours, actually."

Haruhi paused, and then all of the drowsiness suddenly left her at once. The girl jerked into a sitting position, wincing when the action gave her a head rush. "I'm sorry, Kyouya. I didn't mean to. I guess I just wasted all of our time, huh?"

The light from the TV put a glare on his glasses, preventing her from seeing Kyouya's eyes. "Oh no, it wasn't all that bad. You simply made me re-appreciate my detest for television and soap operas. And having my legs fall asleep after the first twenty minutes wasn't all that bad either. Trust me."

For a moment, Haruhi couldn't tell if he was being serious, and the fact that she still couldn't see his eyes wasn't helping. But then she noticed the corner of his mouth lifting up, and she relaxed.

"If it bothered you so much, you could've just pushed me off the sofa," she laughed, giving his shoulder a playful shove.

"Yes, but then you would've woken up. The expressions you make when you're asleep are just too amusing to pass up. Not to mention that all the things you mutter when you're dreaming are nothing short of . . . _interesting_."

Haruhi blushed and grabbed Kyouya's shirt in a panic. "W-what! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what I said of course."

"That's not fair! What did I say?"

Kyouya met her eyes for a while before averting his gaze and letting out a dry cough. Dread pooled in the deepest part of Haruhi's stomach. In vain, she tried to recall what she had been dreaming about. _I have a feeling that he's going to file it away as blackmail, _she thought to herself in resignment.

Kyouya coughed again, smirking as Haruhi squirmed. "Anyway, none of that matters. You can repay me for the agonizing torture you unknowingly put me through. After all—" Kyouya gently pushed Haruhi down on the sofa. Stunned, Haruhi found that her body couldn't do anything but consent. "—that's what having the personal debt is for, right?"

Haruhi's heart hammered in her chest. Right here. This was always the place where she froze and squeaked for him to stop. Where she always chickened out. But at the moment, she was far too distracted by the fact she still couldn't quite see Kyouya's eyes, even as he hovered over her. Slowly, she reached up and removed them. Behind the glasses, his eyes were shocked and half-nervous. That surprised her. But more than anything, the look in his eyes was almost identical to the pair in Haruhi's memories, back at the night in the summer home.

Haruhi lowered the glasses and softly smiled at Kyouya. "That's better," she whispered. "I see you."

For several moments, no one moved. And Kyouya was too speechless to say anything. But then he took his glasses from Haruhi and half-placed, half-tossed them out of the way so he could focus on more important matters. Like kissing Haruhi. Like holding her close. Like whispering in her ear words that he never thought he'd say to anyone in his life. And the whole time he could feel Haruhi shifting and breathing underneath him, returning his kisses and feeling so undeniably _real_ that Kyouya was half tempted to cry out in victory. But instead he chose to kiss her again.

Eventually a clock somewhere in the house chimed seven. Haruhi's father was sure to be home at any minute now. Kyouya had enough sense let in him to break the kiss. Haruhi, with her arms still tangled around his neck, very nearly pulled him back for more. But with a chuckle and a sigh, Kyouya disentangled her arms.

"Don't push it," he mumbled after a quick peck on her left temple. "So far I've been in pretty good standing with your father. I'd rather not have him stumble in on us and dismiss me as being a person of Tamaki's level."

Kyouya straightened up and started to pack up his things, but Haruhi never once moved. Still lying down, she said quietly, "You scare me sometimes, Kyouya. I always thought I was so sensible and smart, but when I feel your arms around me, I just . . ."

Kyouya froze. Quickly he put his glasses back on and looked at Haruhi, but her face was turned away in embarrassment, staring at the old cushions.

"You . . . you scare me sometimes too, Haruhi. Truly," he admitted. Even in the dark room, he could tell she was blushing. But she still refused to look at him. Must have been her stubborn pride.

Grinning, Kyouya leaned over Haruhi once more and whispered in her ear, almost in a singsong fashion, "Ha~~ruhi." When that still didn't get any response, he tried something new. "My Ha~~ru-chan."

Haruhi's eyes widened, and she finally made eye contact. Satisfied, Kyouya pulled her up off the sofa and into a warm embrace. The girl gasped in his arms. "Do you know what I want to do, more than anything else?" Kyouya continued to whisper. Blankly, Haruhi shook her head. "What I want more than anything else . . . is to be with you. I want to go somewhere where it's only just the two of us. No interruptions. No last-minute appointments. Just you and me and—"

Kyouya broke off when he felt Haruhi nuzzling her face into his shoulder. He looked down and caught her peaceful, coy little smile. A smile that made his chest knot up, and for the second time that evening he realized how solid and real she felt in his arms. He held her a little tighter, but she murmured no complaint. And when he finally released her, they were both swallowing back waves of reluctance.

"See you at school again tomorrow, Haruhi," Kyouya said, straightening his tie and smoothing his shirt.

"Mmmm, see you," Haruhi agreed happily as she fixed her messy hair.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Well, here ya go. A quick n' dirty update. Would've made it longer, but I have to start packing. I'm going to my great-grandparents farm for a week . . . yay. (rolls eyes)

Btw, I have NO IDEA what the name of Kyouya's older brother is. So I hereby dub him . . . . . . BOB! (just kidding. his name is Ryosuke) If anyone DOES know, please tell me right away and I'll change it.

Gomen nasai, this chapter is somewhat lacking in fluff. But like I said, I sorta had to write this in a hurry. There might even be more typos than usual, though I desperately hope not.

**EDIT!** I discovered the older brother's name. It's Yuichi. Thanks a lot Kuramasredredrose, and kudos to you for reviewing so fast. I had barely updated the chapter when I saw your review in the inbox. You get a cookie. ^^

_

* * *

_

Something is strange

Kyouya shifted his weight to one leg as he speculated the door. _What could he possibly want? He certainly didn't say anything at the dinner table. _But when the summons from within came, Kyouya sighed out, admittedly a little exaggerated, and adjusted his glasses. An emotionless mask slipped over his face with flawless ease, and he opened the double doors.

Inside the study, his father was pouring over important paperwork. He looked up for a moment to make eye contact with Kyouya. There was the slightest half-smile on his lips, which surprised Kyouya. Not because it was his father's usual fake, polite smile, or even a secret, conniving one. It seemed almost . . . genuine?

"Sit down, Kyouya," his father said with a wave towards the empty chair. "There's something I need to discuss with you."

* * *

"Are you leaving Fuyumi?" Yuichi questioned as he looked up from the novel he was reading.

Fuyumi donned her coat and answered her oldest brother with a bright smile. "Yep. I shouldn't keep my husband waiting like this. He gets _soooo_ lonely sometimes."

"Shall I walk you out to the limo?"

With her back turned, Fuyumi grimaced a little. Because Yuichi certainly wasn't doing it out of brotherly love or concern. He just thought it was appropriate. But then she smiled at him again. "Awww, you always knew how to spoil me. Alright, let's go!"

Fuyumi took Yuichi's arm as he led her outside to the garage. His arm was stiff and rigid. Fuyumi couldn't help but let out a sigh. The men in their family. Honestly! Not that her husband was much better.

"You've been visiting the house so much more often than usual, Fuyumi," Yuichi remarked, though without much interest. He was stating fact.

Fuyumi winked. "You know me. I hate missing out on things."

"I understand." And Yuichi actually managed to grin down at her. "Recently, it feels as though I've spent more time in an airport than I have in Japan. It's easy to lose track of what's happening in the family."

"Isn't that the truth . . ." Fuyumi muttered, her smile turning a touch sad. "It's hard being an adult sometimes."

"For example," Yuichi continued as if he hadn't heard her. "I was positively stunned when I found out that Kyouya's gotten his first girlfriend."

Fuyumi felt a chill pass over her, but she kept her face neutral. The Ootori's were masters at that, after all.

"What?"

"Oh? Did you not know? I thought he was particularly close to you." Yuichi paused before chuckling. "I still can't quite grasp it actually. I always pictured Kyouya as more of a solitary creature."

Fuyumi laughed weakly. "Love strikes in odd ways, Yuichi. Almost no one can escape from its lure. Besides, Kyouya's growing up after all."

"He is, isn't he? And in more ways than one. I have been seeing an improvement in his aptitude. At this rate, he might even surpass us, inspite of being the third son. Plus, to add to it all, he'll have a happy relationship to cling to, something you never got to have, Fuyumi." Fuyumi stared at Yuichi's grin, her eyes slightly narrowed. "It makes you a little jealous of his luck, doesn't it, my dear sister?"

There was a thin line being tread at the moment. Fuyumi could feel it buckle and sway under her weight, and like a trapeze artist, she was tempted to close her eyes and hold out her arms wide to help her balance. But there was no running from this.

"It isn't luck," Fuyumi answered, matching her brother's icy grin. "It's simply pure skill. And effort. If Kyouya managed to crawl all the way to the top on his own like this, I say he deserves it. _Especially_ because he is the third son. Not _inspite_ _of_ being the third son."

They made it to the limo. For a long time, neither of them moved, though the chauffeur patiently held the door open for Fuyumi. Then, Fuyumi laughed loudly. "What is this, Yuichi? What is this sudden gloomy mood? Did I say something strange?" She pecked him on the cheek. "Farewell. Until another time."

"Yes, farewell," Yuichi replied, his face unreadable.

Fuyumi got in the limo, and they drove off towards her house. She let out an exhausted, shaky sigh and leaned her forehead against the window. "I do hope you know what you're doing Kyouya," she whispered. "Even _you_ can't keep secrets forever."

* * *

Despite himself, Kyouya blinked in shocked. Had he heard correctly?

"Come again?"

His father laced his fingers together and rested his chin on his hands. "I was considering rewarding your hard work and efforts. Your achievements have pleased me, and I wish for you to continue with your excellence in the future." He stood up from the desk. "Well, maybe I should not say _reward_. I suppose most parents would not give out tests to reward their obedient children. However, I know you always appreciate challenges."

Kyouya remained silent, hanging on his father's every word.

His father walked around for a bit before stopping in front of a large map of the world hanging on the wall. "The company has considered opening an enterprise in South Africa," he explained, brushing his fingers against the map. "In all honesty, I had considered sending Yuichi over to act as director of the new branch. But Yuichi said that he thought you were more qualified for the position." His father looked over at Kyouya. "That was a very generous thing of him to do, Kyouya. Passing up the offer to stick up for you like that. You should be grateful."

South Africa! It was too early for Kyouya to decide whether he _really_ should be grateful or not, but he didn't say anything.

"After much contemplation, I decided that I agree with your older brother. It shall be hard of course, getting a good foothold down there, but I have confidence in your managerial skills, persistence, and common sense." When Kyouya was still quiet, his father added, "This is your chance to demonstrate your worth as the third son. To prove yourself to me."

Kyouya finally opened his mouth, his voice cool. "When would my departure be?"

"Ideally, just after winter break."

Kyouya frowned a little at that. That gave him just over two months. "Father, I still have school."

"You would only have a trimester left at Ouran anyway. I'm sure it can be negotiated. Besides, you don't fool me." His father's smile turned wry. "I've seen your academic record and the list of classes you've taken. With your excess of credits, you could have graduated last year if you so desired."

"And would I receive support from the main branch here in Japan?"

"Of course. At least, in the beginning. But I wouldn't have dubbed you as the sort of man who wanted a crutch."

Kyouya smirked. "Perhaps not."

"Well?"

"If I may father," Kyouya said, also standing up, "might I request time to think over your proposition?"

"That is fine. Think well, but think fast. There is not enough time for wishy-washy delays."

"I understand." Kyouya bowed to his father, going lower than he usually did. "I thank you. Excuse me, I shall be leaving."

"You're dismissed."

Kyouya shut the doors behind him and walked down the empty corridor. Every footstep he took echoed. But he hardly paid it any mind. He was too preoccupied. Sighing, he removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. "I'm going to bed," he muttered.

But sleep was long in arriving.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **To be honest, I was a little . . . embarrassed when I wrote a certain . . . _part_ of this. That's why this chapter took as long as it did. But I hope you enjoy. And a few chapters ago, when I first introduced Fuyumi, a few review had claimed that she seemed OOC. I tried to improve on this without changing her too much. What do you think? Better?

And also, if I made chapters shorter, I might be able to update more frequently. What's your vote?

And another also . . . I'm going to the beach on Sunday for roughly a week. Usually, we don't get WiFi in our condo. So I promise that I'll be writing, but I won't be able to update. I'll definitely update the minute I get back though! You can count on it!

* * *

After school let out, it was just another comfortable afternoon at Haruhi's place, doing their homework. Or attempting to, rather.

"Kyouya, I've been stuck on the same math problem for almost ten minutes! Could you please keep your hands to yourself long enough for me to figure out how many times 14 goes into 548 at_ the_ _very_ _least!_?"

"Why?" Kyouya grinned and slid a little closer to the flustered girl. Well, if there had been that much room between them to begin with. "Are you trying to say that it's difficult to think when I'm around?" he asked, thoroughly amused.

"Extremely difficult," Haruhi huffed, trying to act all angry and tough, but really her cheeks were a bright red and she had long ago given into drawing tiny circles on her page in a futile effort to distract herself.

Schoolwork was a sacred field to Haruhi, and Kyouya tried his best to respect that. But when after finishing _his_ portion nearly half an hour ago, it was hard not to resist teasing Haruhi a little. As Haruhi turned to Kyouya with an irritated glare, he laughed gently and wrote the answer to the problem for her, not even needing to glance at her calculator.

"You're welcome," he chuckled before giving her a little bit more space.

At that moment, Ranka walked in, his makeup fixed to perfection and his hair recently curled (Kyouya had been slightly disturbed at the sight of a grown man wearing fluffy pink curlers, but he handled it with his usual grace and polite smile). As he retrieved his purse, he told Haruhi, "My ride should be here soon, and then I'm off! I'm covering for a friend, so I probably won't be back from work until late. Will you be okay?"

"Sure, no problem," Haruhi replied with a shrug.

Ranka squealed and glomped his daughter. "That's my Haru-chan! Ever so independent and strong! But seriously, if there's any problem, Daddy will be here in a heartbeat."

"Kyouya's here too, Dad," Haruhi reminded, trying to free herself before she suffocated. "I'll be fine."

"Oh, that's right!" Ranka remarked, as if he only just remembered. Still hugging Haruhi, he turned to Kyouya. "He's here."

"Actually, I might be leaving soon," Kyouya said casually, pulling out the gentleman card to put Ranka at ease.

But it turned out it wasn't necessary. Ranka smiled widely and did the unbelievable—patted Kyouya's head. Haruhi half expected Kyouya to snap at the too familiar and slightly demeaning gesture, but he took it in his stride, as usual. "Don't leave so soon!" Ranka sang, still patting Kyouya's head. "No rush, no rush! You ought to stay and have Haruhi make you dinner. Just one bite of her cooking is 100% guaranteed to steal your heart!"

Kyouya flashed Haruhi a look and said in a low voice, "It was stolen a long time ago."

Haruhi blushed even further and stared at her hands. _He's just playing Host Club. He's just playing Host Club. He's just playing Host Club!_ she thought to herself, trying to calm down. _Fake, fake, fake! _But every time she dared to glance back at Kyouya, he was still staring at her.

Ranka squealed and finally unattached himself from Haruhi . . . only to glomp Kyouya. Haruhi squeaked in horror, but there was nothing to worry about. Kyouya returned the hug, as if it was nothing out of the ordinary.

"Kyaaa! If only you were older! You certainly know how to make an okama's heart flutter. Haru-chaaaan! I'm so jealous!" Ranka gushed.

"Yeah, yeah. Can you let him go now?" Haruhi mumbled. Luckily, Ranka complied, though he felt the need to loudly hum "Here comes the Bride." Haruhi had to stifle the desire to run screaming through the house in mortification.

"A-anyway," Haruhi said over her father's obnoxious, out of tune humming. "Back to homework. Are you sure that's right, Kyouya?"

"What are you talking about? Of course it is."

"But you barely even thought about it," Haruhi continued as she checked his answer in the calculator. But it turned out he _was_ right. The girl felt a vein throb in her temple. "Damn smart, rich bastard."

Kyouya wisely chose not to comment on her remark, but his smirk aggravated Haruhi just as much as anything he could have said.

Ranka watched them work for a bit as he waited for his ride, but he seemed to decide that the math was too complicated. Growing bored, he nudged Kyouya and said, "So, Kyouya. You're a senior this year, aren't you?"

"Yes sir. That's right."

Ranka sighed ruefully. "That means graduation isn't too far away, huh? Do you have an idea of what you want to do with your life?"

"I'm still expanding my boundaries, seeing how much I can get away with. Going to medical college is a given, and taking over one of my father's companies is a possibility. But who knows? I think my father has plans for me." And then, Kyouya smiled. Haruhi stared at him, puzzled. There was something off about his smile. Was something wrong?

Before she could look closer, however, a car horn went off. Ranka jumped to his feet and bid the two goodbye. The okama rushed out, and then all was quiet. Haruhi sighed in relief and bent over her scratch work again. Kyouya occasionally offered some help, but for the most part, he was quiet. When Haruhi had finally finished with her math and moved onto her English translation, Kyouya asked out of the blue, "What about you, Haruhi? I know you want to be a lawyer, but what are your college plans?"

"Hmmm?" Haruhi replied, only half listening as she concentrated on the western letters. "Not sure yet, I guess. Depends on what's affordable. Unless I can find another generous scholarship."

"You know, I know that Ouran sponsors a particular scholarship that allows you to study abroad in America. I bet you could get it easily."

"Yeah," Haruhi sighed out with a wistful sigh. "The superintendent's already mentioned it to me, actually. It'd be great if I could get it. America! What an opportunity."

"So would you take it then? Would you go to America?"

"Huh?" Haruhi looked at Kyouya. The way he stared at her so intently . . . it seemed as if he was testing her. She raised her eyebrows up at him, but he offered no hint as to the correct answer. His face was completely unreadable, a glare on his glasses shielded his eyes.

"Of course," Haruhi finally replied. "Who would waste such an amazing scholarship? Plus, getting such a strong, solid education would almost assure my success as a lawyer."

Kyouya shifted a little, and the glare from his glasses was gone. He smiled, and it was almost identical to the one before. "True," he said softly.

Haruhi bent over her paper, tapping her pencil thoughtfully. "Hnnn, talking about the future like this seems a little sad, doesn't it?"

". . . .yes."

Something in his voice caught her attention. Haruhi pursed her lips and very nearly asked what was bothering him so much, but she knew her enigmatic sempai by now. If he wanted to tell her something, he would have done so already. To lighten the air, Haruhi forced out a rueful chuckle. "Although, if I have plans to study abroad in America, I can't fail my English class. So can I finish my homework already? I'll be done in a second, I promise. And then I can make you dinner if you want."

And Haruhi focused her attention back on her homework again, shutting Kyouya out. He felt a little agitation and impatience as he watched her. He didn't want her to do homework. There was no _time_ for homework. Who had ever invented such a useless and trivial thing as homework?

There she was, sitting there. Living and breathing in front of him. Her brow furrowing in an adorable expression of concentration. Her lips sounding out each word as she figured out their meaning. The fingers of her left hand gently drum rolling on the table. Just a few days ago, Kyouya had marveled at how real she seemed. But now, he wondered if he had been mistaken. As if to check to make sure she was not an illusion, he hesitantly brushed his hand against her cheek. Haruhi ignored him. She was serious this time. She wanted to finish her homework, and she didn't desire any more distractions when she was so close to being done.

Fine. Let her ignore him. Kyouya slid closer to her and wrapped his arms around her. He could sense Haruhi trying her best to focus, but as he buried his face in her hair and inhaled the scent of her shampoo, he knew that her attention.

"Kyouya," Haruhi sighed exasperatedly.

"School's overrated anyway."

Haruhi shivered when she felt Kyouya's lips trailing down her neck. "Strange that _you_ would say that."

"Not strange. It's always been a waste of my time. There are more . . . important things," he murmured. His hands hesitated at her waist for a moment before slipping under her shirt.

Haruhi sucked in her breath at the feeling of his icy cold fingers touching her bare skin. "Kyouya!" she exclaimed sharply, removing his hands. "What are you—?" But he interrupted her with a kiss. The familiar sensation of his lips on hers left her dazed for a moment, even if he was being rougher than usual. Distantly, she could feel his body on top of hers, pinning her to the ground. She could feel him loosening her tie and beginning to unbutton her shirt.

"Stop," Haruhi gasped out breathlessly.

"We're alone," Kyouya said quietly. As if that made it alright.

"So what! Just let me breathe for a second and think!"

"What's there left to think about? I love you." Haruhi swallowed at the l-word. "Do you love me?"

"It's not about that, Kyouya. This is all . . . it's happening too fast!" Haruhi said, almost pleaded.

The corners of his mouth twitched upward, though there was no humor behind it. "You didn't put up _nearly _this much resistance at the beach house," Kyouya remarked.

"That's because I knew you weren't really going to go through with it."

"Are you sure . . . ?"

Kyouya removed his own shirt, and he carefully took Haruhi's hands and placed them against his chest. He guided her fingers around the contours of his body. "Haruhi . . . you are mine, are you not?"

He knew he wasn't being fair. He could feel her trembling underneath him. Haruhi was so _vulnerable_. But he wanted her. He _needed_ her. And he had to know if she felt the same.

"You're so warm," he groaned. Kyouya leaned in for another kiss, which Haruhi returned, and for a moment Kyouya considered it as good as a yes. But then she gently pushed him away. A bit of that old, stubborn light had reentered her brown eyes as she gazed at him evenly.

"You shouldn't need sex to know that I love you too."

Kyouya started a little at that, taken aback by her bluntness.

Haruhi continued. "Call me old-fashioned, Kyouya. But I'm a virgin." Despite herself, she blushed. "And I plan to stay a virgin until I marry." Her voice turned a little hard as she added, "Whether or not the person I marry is _you_."

Kyouya chuckled. "Haruhi, is now _really_ the time to start a lecture on morals that have no weight in modern society anyway?" He finished unbuttoning her shirt, feeling her look of disapproval weighing down on him the entire time. He kissed her smooth, exposed skin, from just below her belly button to her small chest, always taking his time. "Does it feel good?" he asked.

"Yes," Haruhi admitted with a small whisper.

Kyouya reached around her so that he could unhook her bra. "Then I don't see why—"

Haruhi kissed him, cutting him off. While he was distracted, she pulled his hands away from her back and held them tightly in her own, as if shackling them.

"No," Haruhi said firmly, with one last kiss on his cheek.

And that was that.

Haruhi crawled out from under him and silently went to work buttoning her shirt again. Her back was to Kyouya, stiff and proud. With an angry snort, Kyouya grabbed his own shirt in annoyance. But it was mostly aimed at himself.

_I feel like an idiot_, Kyouya thought to himself irritably.

It was unbearably quiet. The girl cleared her throat. "I think I'll make dinner now. Feel free to stay," Haruhi mumbled. And she started to get up, to leave him, but Kyouya wasn't having any of that. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her back into his arms, hugging her tightly.

"I'll help you," Kyouya mumbled after a while.

"Fine."

He held her a little tighter. ". . . . . I'm sorry."

Kyouya could feel Haruhi smile slightly against his collarbone. He was tempted to push her back on the floor again and see if the second try would hold more luck. But he resisted, contenting himself with just holding her. And since it involved being clothed, Haruhi didn't seem to mind too much. Neither of them were all that hungry anyway.

_But Haruhi, _Kyouya said mentally, closing his eyes, _I _want _you. And I might not have much time left._

* * *

"Ehhh? You're playing the piano again?"

Kyouya paused and glanced over his shoulder just as the lights came on in his room. Fuyumi was standing in the doorwary, smiling gently and holding a laundry basket full of Kyouya's clothes. _Figures_, Kyouya thought to himself resignedly.

"I've just recently picked it back up again," he explained, quickly shoving his notes in a neat pile so that Fuyumi couldn't see. He felt faintly uncomfortable, but refused to show it.

Fuyumi sighed dreamily as she walked in. Or maybe waltzed was a better word for it. "It's been so long since I've heard you on the piano. I don't think you've played since the year you first became friends with that Suoh kid. But for such a long absence you don't sound too rusty. I didn't recognize the song however."

"That's good. That means it's original."

"Original?" Fuyumi laughed, but Kyouya didn't care to further explain. So she rolled her eyes and headed for his couch.

Kyouya watched his sister begin to fold his clothes with an air of perplexity. "You don't have to do that," he said, wincing almost imperceptibly.

"If I didn't, then who would?" Fuyumi exclaimed dramatically.

"Funny. I had always assumed that's what servants were for."

Fuyumi stuck her tongue out at him and continued her sloppy folding of the clothes. And after that, she was sure to sloppily put them in his dressers. Kyouya hated disorder.

They were both quiet. Kyouya glared at the piano keys but didn't have the heart to start playing again. The mood grew heavy and somber. Scenes of that afternoon flitted around in his head.

"How are you and that Haruhi girl doing?" Fuyumi asked softly.

Kyouya saw Haruhi underneath him, her bare skin both opened and closed to him. "Fine," he replied curtly.

"I heard that you were considering Father's South Africa offer."

"Really?" he replied in a bored, detached voice.

Fuyumi finished folding and turned to look at Kyouya. Her hands were poised on her hips. "What about Haruhi?"

"What about her?"

"What are you going to do?"

Kyouya didn't say anything.

"Oh, Kyouya," Fuyumi sighed.

"Why are you so suddenly considered? Weren't you the one who told me to break up with her? Who's side are you on?"

"I know," Fuyumi said, but then stopped, frowning. "Or maybe I don't know. Who knows?" Fuyumi sighed again, only more frustrated this time. "I'm just confused, Kyouya. But I really do want what's best for you. I _want_ you to be happy."

A half-smile formed on his lips. "I know."

"So . . . ?" When Kyouya didn't answer right away, Fuyumi pressed even further. "What are you thinking?"

Kyouya's fingers fiddled back and forth between two notes. "If Haruhi were to go away to achieve her dream, _I_ wouldn't stop her. I would probably push her to it. Because I know it's important to her." He paused before adding quietly, "I'm sure she would probably do the same for me."

"She's not exactly rich though, right? She couldn't just come to visit you at the drop of a visa card. And once you get involved in the business, I'm not sure you'd have time to do the same."

"We'd make it work."

Fuyumi gazed at Kyouya evenly until he looked up at her. "Would she be willing to wait for you like that, though? What if she found someone else while you were absent? I mean, you _are_ asking a lot from her."

Kyouya's stomach clenched at that thought. But he kept his face passive. "I trust that Haruhi will remain faithful, and I _know_ I certainly will be. I don't want anyone but her."

"But if she _does_ find someone else?" Fuyumi persisted.

Kyouya stood up from the piano and walked over to his sister. But he didn't stop at her. He went passed her and headed for the couch, where he began to correct his sister's poor attempt to fold his clothes. After folding four of his shirts and one pair of pants, Kyouya finally trusted himself to give a clear answer. "You were the one who said Haruhi might be happier with someone more of her level. If she finds someone else, then I'll let her be."

"I'm not sure if I believe that," Fuyumi said with a wry smile. "Even as a child, you were never one to share the toys you discovered."

Kyouya grinned a wry grin right back at her. "You're right. But can I help it? It's in my nature to be possessive."

Fuyumi ruffled his hair playfully, which Kyouya did not care for all that much. As he fixed his hair again, Fuyumi laughed at him and headed for the door. "Whatever you choose, I'm here for you."

She left, leaving the door wide open. Kyouya snorted at that and went to shut it. "She never shuts the door behind her," he grumbled, but with good-nature. After he finished folding and placed the clothing in their respective drawers exactly the way he liked them, he sat by the piano once again. He spent a good part of his night by it, occasionally jotting down notes on the papers he had hidden from Fuyumi.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** Well . . . at the rate this is going, I might be able to crack 200 reviews before the end . . . which would be FREAKIN' AWESOME. I owe you guys so much. I feel like my fanfic isn't even worth all of this love. Seriously. So I'm going to announce something sorta early. A prize of sorts, maybe. To whoever is the 200th reviewer, I will grant them a oneshot request. It can be any pairing, any situation. It can even be something outside of Ouran Host Club (but only if I'm familiar with the anime: something like Fruits Baskets, Gakuen Alice, Bleach, Soul Eater, Durarara!, Hana Kimi, Honey and Clover, or FMA would work). Also, I'm not a fan of writing yaoi, yuri, or anything too lemony. But beyond that, you have complete control over the fluff or absurdity. ^^ Just a way for me to say thank you.

This chapter may seem a little low-key. It's sorta a transition chapter, just bear with me. Things are about to heat up, and I can see the climax in sight. i wonder what i'm going to do when i finally finish my first multichaptered fic . . . oh wait. i'll just write more fanfics of course. duh. XD guess who doesn't have a life?

* * *

Usually, Kyouya cringed inwardly at the thought of trying to work during club hours, knowing full well that by the time he was released, he would have a tremendous headache worthy of two or three aspirins. But today he was surprised to find himself welcoming it. The combination of noisy conversations and monotonous budget balancing left little room for thinking of much of anything. Which, in his current predicament, was certainly a pleasant relief.

He flexed his fingers absentmindedly for a moment, cracking his knuckles. As he gave his fingers a short break, his eyes traveled the room. It was funny how he was always able to locate Haruhi in an instant. She was currently busying herself at all the tables, bringing tea kettles and cups of coffee to the customers. The twins were harassing her at every step, and even from a distance Kyouya could tell that her patience was beginning to wear thin.

His mouth twitched upwards into an amused, half-smirk. _Shall I save her?_ he wondered idly as he turned back to the laptop. His fingers tapped against the desk for a moment, indecisive, before returning to the keyboard. _She can handle it. After all, I won't always be there to save her if I—_

Kyouya paused at the clinking sound of china, and he looked up. Haruhi was hovering over him with her natural smile. "And a cup of coffee for you sempai," she said, slipping a cup on the desk.

He stared. "I didn't ask for any."

"I know. But you look a little more tired than usual, so I figured you might need it."

Kyouya blinked, slightly taken aback. "Oh."

"That is," Haruhi said, grinning a little wider, almost mischievously, "if you can stand to degrade yourself by drinking commoner coffee. Because there's no way in hell I'm gonna go out of my way to get you some fancy brand."

"Why not? I'll dock off some of your debt," Kyouya remarked all too innocently as he brought the cup up to his lips.

Haruhi scowled a little. He heard her mumble something that sounded like "rich bastard" under her breath, and Kyouya couldn't help but chuckle. "It'll do," he told her with a wave of his hand, as if dismissing her. But Haruhi lingered a little longer.

"Oi, Haruhi!" two voices called just then, and Haruhi found herself sandwiched between the two twins. Haruhi accepted her fate with nothing more than a resigned sigh.

"Haruhi, looking out for the Shadow King, are we? Are you trying to suck up?" Hikaru asked loudly as he leaned against her.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kyouya watched Haruhi's brow furrow. "It's not that," she said, clearly beginning to get annoyed.

"Though I'm surprised you could even tell he looked tired," Kaoru remarked. "The only person more emotionless and cold than Kyouya-sempai would be Mori-sempai. Well, I guess you can't really call Mori-sempai _cold._"

Now even Kyouya was starting to get a little annoyed. His fingers twitched slightly, but he forced himself to continue to type away at the laptop.

"Really? I thought it was pretty obvious," Haruhi said with an offhand shrug.

"Hnnn? You know him so well?" Hikaru asked slyly.

Kyouya couldn't take it anymore. He banged extra hard on the keyboard for a moments to announce his irritation (which made the freshmen trio stiffen in fear) before saying coolly, "Haruhi is simply a perceptive being and is adept at noticing things about people. She can tell you two apart, can't she?"

The twins shut their mouths at that statement.

"Now, if you _don't mind_." Kyouya slowly turned around, smiling icily. A dark aura started building up around their sempai. "I'm busy, and all three of you are proving to be a terrible nuisance."

They didn't need telling twice. Frightened, the twins picked Haruhi up and zoomed to the other side of the room. Once they were gone, Kyouya sighed out in relief and grabbed the mug Haruhi had brought for him. Usually, he didn't like drinking instant coffee, but the female host had been right. He _did_ need it. As the warm, bitter liquid slid down his throat, Kyouya briefly entertained the thought of Haruhi making him coffee, _real_ coffee, every morning—preferably while adorned in a cutesy, frilly apron—but he quickly squashed the notion and returned to work.

"HARUHI!" the blond host club leader screamed before promptly glomping her. "Haruhi! Haruhi!"

_And the interruptions continue_, Kyouya thought to himself as he nursed his coffee. _Maybe I miscalculated. With the noise in this room, I'm going to need a whole bottle of aspirin. _

"Sempai, get off!" Haruhi protested. To which Tamaki politely ignored, as usual.

"Oh my lovely daughter, where have you _been_?" he cried.

"What do you mean where have I been? I'm right here. Hosting. Same as I've been doing every single day."

"But why haven't you come to my house?"

Haruhi stared at him, as if amazed at how far he could take his idiocy.

Tamaki started to pout and wring his hands when he saw her obvious lack of enthusiasm. "B-but you promised," he sniffed.

"Huh?"

He had invited her to his house? Kyouya sat very still so that he could hear what played out.

"You promised that you would visit Lou-chan, remember? He's been telling me that he misses you!" Tamaki gushed.

"Tamaki-sempai, dogs don't talk." But Haruhi's voice was softer now, and she was slowly beginning to smile and roll her eyes in amusement.

"Lou-chan can talk in the only way that matters. Listen, every morning when I get up, I go out to greet Antoinette and Lou-chan, and Lou-chan always looks up at me with these eyes that seem to say 'But where is my beloved cousin, Haruhi?' "

"So I'm the dog's cousin now?" Haruhi muttered under her breath, but Tamaki continued on, not hearing.

"Lou-chan will whine and ask 'Why does she never come see me? Does she hate me?' But there's no way you could hate Lou-chan, right Haruhi?"

"Well . . . no, but—"

"Then why don't we go over to my house today? Right after school!" Tamaki declared, simply overflowing with excitement.

"T-today?" Haruhi stammered, unsure. As Kyouya stared at her, he noticed the way her head started to turn in his direction, but she caught herself and met Tamaki's eyes again.

"Awww, why not?" Tamaki persisted.

The female host fell quiet for a moment, but Kyouya already knew what her answer would be. He drained the last bit of his coffee and returned to his laptop.

"You're right," Haruhi answered with a big smile. "Why not?"

"Haruhi! Come on, come on!" Tamaki said, sounding like a little child as he bounced on his heels in impatience.

"One second. Let me grab my bag."

Haruhi headed for the long table where she had left her things, and she paused. Kyouya was sitting a few seats away, still typing on that laptop. She took a hesitant step closer and said, "I'm leaving with Tamaki today. We're going to stop by his house and take the dogs to go play in the park," she explained, though she didn't really know why she suddenly felt the need to explain.

"I heard."

Haruhi frowned at his terse response and looked over to Tamaki, who was waiting for her on the other side of the room. She leaned back against the table casually. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Kyouya asked, seemingly without interest.

Haruhi shrugged. They were quiet for a moment.

"Haruh_iiiiiiiiii_!" Tamaki whined.

"I get it. I'm coming!" Haruhi called back. She turned to Kyouya and said with a gentle smile, "Don't overwork yourself, Kyouya. Don't be tempted to stay here all night just because you don't have to take me home."

Kyouya scoffed. "Like I would ever do something so ridiculous."

Haruhi laughed and walked away. At the sound of her giggling, Kyouya felt his face soften. But he stiffened when Tamaki jogged forward to meet Haruhi and seized her hand. "You take so long! Lou-chan's probably dying of loneliness by now."

"Please! He'll be fine," Haruhi laughed and let Tamaki lead her out of the room.

Once their voices faded away, Kyouya shut the laptop. He stared at it for a while, and then he abruptly stood up and moved to put the laptop in his bag.

_If you leave, this sort of thing would happen all the time,_ a voice in his head whispered. _Haruhi might even get lonely and start to go out with Tamaki. And there's no way that you could blame her. After all, he's probably so much better for her. _

Kyouya laughed bitterly as he walked out and locked up the music room for the day. "Fuyumi was right," Kyouya mumbled. "I'm too possessive for my own good."

"Wahhhh!" Tamaki cried, falling backwards as he was attacked by Lou-chan and Antoinette. "Ah! You're nose is cold! Don't lick me there! Ah ha ha!"

Haruhi stood off at a distance, sagging and feeling particularly unneeded. "What were you saying about me being missed?" She eyed the mini limo in exasperation. "And was it really necessary to have the dogs be chauffeured to the park? We could've just walked."

"Oh, that's right!" Tamaki exclaimed, sounding as if he had forgotten her presence as well. He gestured to her wildly, whistling. "Lou-chan, it's Haruhi! Haruhi! Get her too. Attack her with an extra sloppy kiss."

"Eh?"

Obediently, the little terrier raced off to Haruhi, his tongue lolling in excitement. Haruhi took an uncertain step back, but Lou-chan persistently jumped at her legs, yipping for attention. "Oh jeez," she mumbled, softening, and she knelt to give him a good rub down. "He's gotten so much bigger," she told Tamaki.

"Yep," Tamaki said as he attached Antoinette to a leash. He came over to Lou-chan to do the same thing. "Look at that tail wag! I think he likes you."

Haruhi chuckled, unable to keep from smiling. The little terrier _was_ pretty cute.

"You can take Lou-chan," Tamaki said.

"Alright."

They walked around the park, which Haruhi immediately recognized. Her mom and dad used to take her here a lot as a child. She saw the fountain that she had always loved to dance around and jump in, but it was turned off due to the fact that it was winter. But there were still plenty of kids hanging around the swings and the playground. More than once, Haruhi caught Tamaki watching a group of children playing together, his eyes soft and warm. The sight made her roll her eyes and smile as well.

"Alright, I admit it," Tamaki said out of the blue. "Lou-chan missed you, but really I missed you more. I only asked you to come because I wanted some bonding time."

Haruhi's smile faded, and she looked away. "Father-daughter bonding time?"

"Yep!" he grabbed Haruhi's free hand and swung it back and forth with a childish energy.

Haruhi rolled her eyes again, but this time in annoyance.

"Sometimes, it feels like you're closer to your brothers or your mom. So daddy formed this brilliant idea and decided to take you to the park! What do you think? Commoners like the park, right?"

"Uh . . . yeah." But Haruhi was distracted by a rather amusing thought. _I guess I never thought about it before but . . . if Tamaki's the dad and Kyouya's the mom then . . . _Haruhi's face warmed, and she nearly let out a giggle. _Ahh, Kyouya would kill me if he knew what I was thinking about right now. But Tamaki and Kyouya . . . or better yet, Kyouya in a dress and high heels and make-up. _But that just made her think about her real dad, and Haruhi wrinkled her nose. _Never mind, that's a little disturbing. _

"You're quiet," Tamaki noted.

"Just admiring the scenery," Haruhi said quickly. Which was a lie. The park was beautiful during almost any season . . . except for winter. Then it just looked bare and dull.

"How is Kyouya, by the way?"

Haruhi stiffened. Why was he asking her? Did he know? "H-huh?"

Tamaki blinked at her. "He's seemed a little more preoccupied than usual lately. A little down, you know? Have you not noticed?"

"No." _Yes_, Haruhi thought privately. "Well . . . I mean, I've noticed he's seemed a little tired, but—"

Tamaki nodded. "I saw you talking to him today. I just thought maybe he might tell you. I've asked him several times myself, but he always told me that I was being overdramatic as usual and imagining things." Tamaki let out a breath and smiled. "So like him really. He acts all cold and stiff, but he's a nice guy."

"Yeah."

"He doesn't like to make people worry."

". . . yeah."

Haruhi frowned. Truthfully, she had kind of been looking forward to an outing with Tamaki. He was good at making her laugh and getting rid of any stress. But now he was only making her more worried. _But maybe he's right. Maybe Kyouya would tell me if I asked,_ Haruhi thought. _This has been going on for too long anyway._

"Oh look! There's an open field up ahead. You wanna play fetch?"

"Uh—"

"What about you?" Tamaki asked, bending down to his dogs and ruffling their heads. "Do you want to play catch with your most favorite cousin in the world?"

The dogs barked and wagged their tails excitedly. Haruhi felt as though she had been backed into a corner, even though they were just dogs and their opinions really didn't matter that much anyway.

"Alright. A quick game of fetch, but then I really should be getting back home," Haruhi said.

"Race ya!"

"Wait, what?"

Tamaki laughed loudly as he and Antoinette surged forward. Seeing this, Lou-chan instantly dashed after them, dragging Haruhi along with surprising strength for his size. They played around until both dogs were panting in exhaustion, and even Haruhi had broken a bit of a sweat. But even when laughing at Tamaki's childish antics, she never felt completely at ease. Her thoughts kept straying back to Kyouya and how she might ask him what was wrong.

Tamaki finally took her home. She waved goodbye to him and ascended up the stairs to her apartment. She stood by the door, rummaging through her bag to find her house keys. "First thing I'm going to do is call Kyouya," she muttered to herself as she opened the door—

—and walked right into the person of her thoughts. Haruhi jumped back and squeaked in shock. Kyouya simply leaned against the doorframe, looking entirely too cool and casual.

"Yes?"

Haruhi turned bright red and stammered incoherently for a few moments. But when she saw his smirk, she clamped her mouth shut. "I could kill dad for giving Kyouya a spare key," she mumbled.

Kyouya stepped to the side and gestured inside. "Welcome home, Haruhi."

The shock was finally beginning to subside. "How long have you been waiting?" Haruhi asked after she shut the door behind her.

"Not long," Kyouya assured smoothly.

Haruhi narrowed her eyes, waiting for his usual sarcastic remark that always followed, but when none came, her eyebrows rose.

"Never mind," Haruhi sighed. She set her stuff down and then wandered into the kitchen to prepare some tea. "Did you need me for something?"

Kyouya folded his arms, seeming to find a lot of interest in Haruhi's microwave. "No. I just wanted to be with you. Is there something wrong with me coming over?"

_Ahhh, too frank,_ Haruhi thought, her heart skipping a bit. "Of course not."

"But it sounded like _you_ needed_ me_," Kyouya continued, finally tearing his eyes off of the microwave and looking at Haruhi. "What did you need to call me for?"

"Oh, you heard that?" Haruhi let the kettle boil for a while, and she turned around. Only to realize Kyouya was right next to her. Too close. Haruhi lowered her eyes and swallowed. "I-I had to ask you something."

"Yes?"

"Something important."

"Of course."

His hands touched her face, holding her gently. All of her thoughts turned to mush, and Haruhi cracked a smile. "Is it your goal in life to distract me?" she asked.

"Maybe."

His lips were on hers. Haruhi relaxed and leaned into him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Kyouya broke off sooner than usual, and he leaned his forehead against hers. "Now what was that important something you had to ask me about?"

She shuddered as she felt his hands slip down her sides. "You're evil," Haruhi scowled.

"Why thank you." When he kissed her again, she could feel him smirking. But this kiss was even shorter than the first. "But surely that's not the important thing you had to tell me." He looked down at her, as if this time he really was going to behave and hear her out.

Haruhi opened her mouth, but no words came out. She snorted. It figured. "Oh, never mind. Forget it," the girl said, and she leaned in for another. "But you're not off the hook."

"I don't expect to be."


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** UWAHHHHHHH! I'm so sorry for the long absense! School sucks the life out of you, I SWEAR! Also, another reason why this one took so long was the length. It was originally just going to be two separate chapters, but if I had split them, they both would have been on the shorter side. So enjoy this amazingly long chapter! Next chapter is the climax, and then we're in for a bunch of action packed, drama filled chapters! XD Actually, I've already started to write the last chapter, so that I know where I'm heading. I hope it's to your liking.

And don't forget! Whoever is the 200th reviewer gets a free oneshot request! ^^

* * *

After his alarm went off for the fifth time that morning, Kyouya finally rolled out of bed and staggered to his bathroom. He let the water in the sink run for a while, the soft hissing noise of the faucet waking him up a bit, and then he splashed his face. He blindly reached for a towel, pausing in the middle of wiping off to glance at the mirror. Kyouya lowered the towel and squinted a little closer. Even without his glances, he could tell his reflection was not a pretty sight. The man in the mirror looked haggard and tired, and to Kyouya's disgust, he thought he could detect dark circles gathering under his eyes.

"I'm only going to make her worry," he grumbled under his breath as he turned off the water with an irritable snap of his wrist.

But all the late nights at the piano were going to be worth it. He was so close now. All _it_ needed were the final touches. Kyouya let out a sigh, carelessly tossed his towel away, and went to get ready for school.

* * *

"What about you, Haruhi?" a customer asked with sparkling eyes.

Haruhi blinked out of her reverie when she heard her name and quickly struggled to remember what the conversation had been about. "Oh, I'm not too sure yet," Haruhi said, smiling softly as she gazed at her tea. "But I sure wouldn't mind staying at home this winter break. Spending it with family and just relaxing after a marathon of Christmas reruns and hot chocolate, you know? That's my kind of vacation."

The three girls at Haruhi's table let out a soft squeal at their host's day-dreamy look. They were going to faraway places for their vacation, and yet they acted as if Haruhi's break was going to surpass them all. _Then just stay put instead of wasting all that money for no reason,_ Haruhi thought to herself, with only the slightest bit of annoyance, as she sipped her tea. _It's too cold to do much of anything this time of year anyway. _

"HaaaaaRUhiiiiii!"

Haruhi cringed imperceptibly and had enough sense to quickly put her cup down. As soon as she had done so, she was nearly crushed to death by two pairs of arms.

"Haruhi, Haruhi!" Hikaru exclaimed excitedly. "You should go on a trip with us!"

"Yeah, we'll take you out to some tropical island with a lot of sun and plenty of beach."

"Don't waste your money on me," Haruhi muttered, exasperated. But to the three girls at the table, all they say was a coy, blushing Haruhi who turned her head in anguish as she asked the twins not to spoil her so. When one of them nearly fell back in her chair due to overexcitement, Haruhi glanced at them with her eyebrows raised, wondering what the heck they were fantasizing about.

"But we _know_ that you don't like the cold. Come escape with us!" Hikaru persisted.

"No thanks," Haruhi deadpanned, freeing herself from their arms.

The two twins pouted at her, Hikaru more so than Kaoru. Kaoru noted his brother's aggravation and quickly intervened. "Well, we still have about week until winter break, so think about it until then," Kaoru said, ruffling Haruhi's hair. When she frowned at him, he winked at her. "There'll be a plane ticket with your name on it."

"Like I said," Haruhi muttered, but to her relief, the twins left her alone. Her customers immediately started discussing in serious, hushed tones what the twins and Haruhi would do on their adventures, mostly excluding Haruhi from their conversation. Haruhi didn't mind. She was left to return to her own thoughts.

Kyouya. She still hadn't gotten a chance to ask him what was wrong. Haruhi didn't know why or how she could tell, but she got the feeling he was avoiding her. Not in the normal way though. Actually, to the outside eye, it might have looked as though Kyouya was spending even more time with her than ever before. But Haruhi wasn't stupid. She noticed that whenever he was around, there was almost always someone else there. There was hardly any private time, no alone time, so Haruhi was always frustrated in her attempts to hold a more serious conversation. Even those quiet car rides every day after school had slowly vanished. Kyouya kept coming up with excuses and then apologized for not being able to take Haruhi home.

_He must know that I'm curious. But why won't he let me know what's been bugging him? Tamaki said he doesn't like to make people worry, but . . ._ Haruhi exhaled quietly and rubbed her eyes. _All this nonsense is only making me _more_ worried._

When her customers let out gasps and/or clapped their hands to their mouths in shock, Haruhi cocked her head at them in confusion. But then a hand alighted on her shoulder. Haruhi swallowed, even before she heard his voice.

"And how are you ladies doing today?" Kyouya asked smoothly. "I trust that Haruhi is entertaining you all to the best of her abilities."

Haruhi felt him give her shoulder a slight squeeze.

The girls nodded eagerly. One said behind her hand, "Haruhi is so popular! If you get her as a host, you're bound to get visits by the other hosts as well. It's like getting a double dose of bishie for less!" But that girl failed at being quiet, and Haruhi heard her whispering all too well. A slight flush crossed the natural host's face, and it only increased when Kyouya actually sat down at the table.

The customers automatically understood the treat they were being giving, as they knew that Kyouya was the most aloof of the hosts. All three tried their best to impress Kyouya and show off in their shameless, spoiled way. Kyouya responded to them in his usual fake polite demeanor while Haruhi mostly ignored them. She wordlessly poured Kyouya a cup and slid it over to him. He thanked her with a nod of his head and smoothly resumed the conversation with the ladies. But when he took his first gulp, he realized that it was not tea, like the rest of the table was drinking.

It was coffee.

Haruhi looked at him meaningfully from the corner of his eyes. Kyouya smiled, for just a moment abandoning the fake smile and smiling something real for Haruhi. But it vanished in the quickest flicker. It didn't matter too much. The table was small, so Kyouya had to sit close to Haruhi. Under the table, he grabbed her hand. But Haruhi wasn't smiling. She was staring at her own cup.

_It's always when someone else is around . . ._

Haruhi thought back to the days when they first started going out. She had complained to Kyouya that they were always alone, as if she were ashamed to be with her. But now Haruhi would go back to those days without a second thought. Compared to this, it was heaven. Compared to this, where even though Kyouya was taking more risks with her in public, it was even more secretive than usual, and _he_ was even more secretive than usual.

_Hadn't he once told me that he wanted to go somewhere, just the two of us? _

Kyouya noticed her somber mood, and reluctantly he released her hand.

* * *

After hosting activities, Kyouya was found, as usual, at his laptop. It wasn't long before he heard something thump into the table. The chair next to him scraped against the floor as it was pulled out and occupied.

"What do you want, Tamaki?" Kyouya asked with a heaved sigh.

Tamaki looked over him, sitting backwards in the chair like an ill-behaved child. He offered his friend a grin. "Eh? This chair looked empty, so I sat down. What do _you_ want?"

Kyouya paused to readjust his glasses, making his eyes unreadable. "What a ridiculous question. Absolutely nothing at all. There is nothing I want that I don't have."

"What a carefree life," Tamaki remarked with amusement. With a strangely sad smile.

Kyouya paused again, then resumed his typing. "Well, perhaps it _would_ be nice if I didn't have to so constantly deal with a certain idiot's frivolous demands."

Tamaki laughed, and when he laughed he laughed with his whole being. Tilting his head back as if there was no one to hear and scold him for it.

Kyouya envied him.

"I'll rephrase the question so that maybe you'll leave me alone and I can return to work. Do you need something? Do you have to ask me something?"

"Yep," Tamaki said with an energetic bob of the head.

Suspicion laced through Kyouya when he saw the way Tamaki was looking at him. Immediately switching on the defensive, Kyouya replied, "I told you before. I'm fine. And if I look tired, it's only because I've been busier than usual helping father. Something that _you're_ not helping with."

Tamaki pouted and waved his hands. "That wasn't it at all," the blond insisted. "I know I'll only annoy you if I keep asking, and you'll tell me what's wrong on your own eventually."

"I said there's nothing—"

"I had something else I needed to ask you," Tamaki interrupted, abruptly turning seriously. He dramatically glanced around him, checking the vicinity, before lowering his voice to a loud whisper. "I want some advice. Because you seem like the cool type who knows how to handle this sort of thing."

". . . huh?"

But their conversation was cut short by Haruhi's soft exclamation. She was standing a ways away, looking out the gray window. Both boys couldn't help but stare and hang onto every word, even before she started talking.

"Aww, it's raining," Haruhi mumbled distantly, not to anyone in particular.

Kyouya immediately turned back to his laptop, but he didn't touch the keyboard. He could hear Haruhi sigh out, could sense her looking hopefully in his direction.

"Could you take me home, Kyouya?"

Next to him, Tamaki made a noise of astonishment. Because she had not used sempai as she did with Tamaki, as well as her boldness to even ask a favor of the Shadow King. Really, it was natural for the blond ditz to be surprised. But it made Kyouya twitch a little. Without looking at her, he said, "Today, Father wanted me to observe one of his meetings—"

"DADDY WILL TAKE YOU HOME!" Tamaki exclaimed, jumping to his feet and slamming his hands against the table.

"Eh?"

"Just you and me, Haruhi! FATHER DAUGHTER BONDING TIME!" And Tamaki very nearly broke out into an impromptu dance.

"I'm not—" Haruhi began.

Kyouya narrowed his eyes and cleared his throat. Change of plans. He couldn't stand the idea of Haruhi suddenly making it a habit to ride home with Tamaki all the time. "I didn't finish," he stated quickly, just barely keeping the anger out of his voice. He snapped the laptop shut. "Father wanted me to observe one of his meetings, but it's on the way to your house. We have to leave immediately though."

Haruhi blinked, surprised that she actually won. Tamaki looked like a little puppy thrown out in the rain after being kicked a couple of times. "But that's no _fun_," Tamaki whined.

Sagging wearily, Haruhi tried to make it up to him. "It's out of your way, anyway, Tamaki-sempai. I don't want to inconvenience you. We can have bonding time later."

The sad puppy eyes turned hopeful. "Really?" Tamaki gushed.

"I said, we have to leave _now_, Haruhi," Kyouya said coolly, already halfway to the door.

"Ah, right!" Haruhi replied, jumping a little. "Just let me grab my things."

Kyouya wordlessly held up her bag for her to see. Haruhi rolled her eyes and hurried after him, leaving the pouting Tamaki behind.

Once they were out of earshot, Haruhi threw Kyouya a side-long glance. "Why so cold, Kyouya?"

He looked stonily ahead. "It's no secret that that idiot gets on my nerves sometimes."

"Uh huh," she said with a skeptical snort, and she was relieved when she noticed him relaxing.

But Kyouya stiffened up once they reached the limo. He knew what was coming. The Inquisition. He had been trying to evade her prying questions, at least until he really knew what he was going to decide. But she was intelligent. She couldn't be fooled for long. That was one of the reasons why he had fallen for her in the first place.

Kyouya sat down in his usual spot, expecting Haruhi to do the same. But she slid over and sat in the middle seat, keeping her face impassive when Kyouya arched his eyebrows at her. Instead of defending or explaining her action, Haruhi remarked, "It's been a while since you've taken me home."

"It has, hasn't it?"

The limo started, and they pulled out into the wet streets. The thrumming of the car's engine mixed with the smattering of the raindrops was pleasantly smoothing, but Kyouya resisted the lull and remained on alert.

"You've been avoiding me."

"I have not."

Haruhi rested her head on her shoulder, but didn't say another word. Kyouya kept waiting and waiting, until he finally said, "You're very quiet."

"I'm enjoying it while it lasts," Haruhi replied simply. As if that was that.

She didn't see him smile gently. "It really _has_ been a while," he repeated. He slipped his arm around her, allowing Haruhi to snuggle a little closer, her eyes closed.

Kyouya didn't ever want the car ride to end.

* * *

Another late night at the piano. But Kyouya was distracted. Exhaustion was catching up with him, and he found his fingers moving slower, his mind beginning to wander. Kyouya stopped and shook his head to clear his thoughts, and he resumed playing again.

_So close_ . . .

But it was no use. Focus was futile tonight. An A chord invoked the image of Haruhi leaning against him in the limo, her eyes shut wistfully. F sharp called upon the scene of Haruhi laughing as he tickled her. A mellow G showed Kyouya a wide expanse of innocent white skin, seen only by him and yet not his to claim—yet. He could see everything as it happened, played back in a un-sequential, skittering reverse. Haruhi struggling to impress him with her piano. Haruhi squirming under what she called his "death glares." Haruhi peering over his shoulder curiously to see what he was jotting down in his folder. Haruhi flashing smiles at him for seemingly no reason at all. Kyouya could imagine the way it felt when her hands were trapped under his, dancing over the monochrome keys. And when his own hands finally stopped, and the piano's vibrations were slowing and fading away, he could perfectly picture what had been burned into the inside of his eyelids, the look on her face when he first kissed her . . .

_But she's not happy_, Kyouya thought as he remembered the discontent flicker of Haruhi's brown eyes that afternoon. _It's so painfully obvious._

The third son rose from his seat, stretching his fingers and arms. _A break. Just a quick one,_ he told himself, throwing himself on the sofa in the room. But sitting still only made the memories that much more potent and relentless as they threw themselves against the walls of his skull. Kyouya endured it for a moment, and then, as if in an afterthought, he grabbed his laptop to distract himself with.

11:05. That was when the first bolt of lightning invaded his room and threw up shadows on the walls. Kyouya froze for a moment, listening. Five seconds later, the thunder followed. Immediately, Kyouya fished for the cell phone in his pocket.

"Haruhi?" he said when she finally picked up.

"Nnggg . . . Kyouya?" Haruhi answered groggily. "What is it? It's late."

Not really. At least, not to him. "What's going on over there?"

". . . mmm?"

Kyouya tried to ignore how sexy Haruhi sounded when she was half-asleep.

"How is the weather over there?"

Haruhi moaned a little as she forced herself to crawl out of her warm, toasty bed. She slipped on some slippers and shuffled to the window. "The rain's stopped for a few hours or so, but the sky still looks pretty dark. I'm sure it'll rain again later. Why?"

The storm must not have reached her yet. The merciful thing to do would be to let Haruhi fall back asleep before the thunder came. Even so, Kyouya had to almost drag the words out, not really wanting to let her go. "No reason. If all is well, then that is all. I apologize for disturbing you, and I'll—"

"Wait," Haruhi interrupted before he could hang up.

Kyouya's thumb hovered over the red end call button.

He heard her yawn a little, and when she next spoke, she sounded a little more awake. "I have to talk to you anyway."

His thumb twitched closer to the red button. "About?"

"About whatever the hell's been upsetting you so much," Haruhi said, a little sharply, as if she was grumpy from just being woken up. "I figure, if you're too embarrassed to tell me in person, maybe it'd be easier on the phone?"

"I'm not embarrassed."

"Then you simply don't trust me?"

Her voice was hard, like a challenge.

"I _do_ trust you," Kyouya countered with a soft, velvety tone. "More than you could ever know." And somehow, Kyouya knew with complete certainty that Haruhi was blushing on the other line.

11:11. The room was quiet. The rumble of thunder was beginning to slow as the storm passed over Kyouya's house. It was moving faster than he thought. He sighed and stood up, heading for the garage.

"Then what?"

As his eyes grazed over the widespread selection of cars, Kyouya tried to fish for a suitable response. Which turned out to be harder than usual. Maybe because he truly did hate lying to Haruhi and leaving her in the dark like this? "I . . . I simply don't expect you to understand." It was pretty lame, but Kyouya was preoccupied. He should probably go for something more discreet, right? "It's just drama in the business world, as usual." Oh hell, he'll just use the Corvette Convertible. At least it was black.

"Try me."

Kyouya chuckled at her persistence as he pulled out of the garage, liking the purr of the engine.

"Why is that funny? You know that I'm perfectly capable and intelligent."

"Yes, yes I do. Fine, you win, Haruhi Fujioka." Kyouya readjusted his glasses and didn't notice how he was already starting to ease up and relax, how just talking to this peculiar girl was enough to calm him. Lights rushed past him on the dark, wet streets, but he was too attuned to Haruhi to properly enjoy the adrenaline of speeding. "I will not go in depth. It will only be boring, and I don't have the patience for it. Simply put, the stakes are being raised higher and higher for the third son of the Ootori family."

"But you like challenges," Haruhi reminded gently.

"Yes, I do. But Father has put even more pressure on me. I now face a series of life-changing—" Kyouya broke off when he heard her giggling. "What?"

"This isn't a shojo, Kyouya. You sound like a melodramatic teenager."

"I assure you, this is very serious," Kyouya replied, and something in his grim tone sent a quick shiver down Haruhi's spine.

"I apologize," Haruhi said, keeping her voice light.

"Anyway," Kyouya sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Soon I have to make a very difficult decision which could impact my future success, as compared to my brothers." When the other end was silent for a while, he asked, "Haruhi? Are you still there?"

She was quiet for a little longer, thinking, before finally opening her mouth. "That's all very fine and well, Kyouya, but you make the problem sound so scientific."

"Scientific?"

"Oh, well . . . maybe that's not the right word. What I mean to say is, what you've described to me . . . you talk as if it's so clear cut. As if it's obvious that there's really only one option, and that would be the one that would ensure your victory. But you wouldn't concern yourself over it so much if it wasn't more complicated than that, right?" And as Haruhi asked the next question, Kyouya's mouth went dry. "What exactly is the choice you've been given?"

"I told you I would not go into detail," he responded quickly, smoothly.

"Ehhh? That's not fair. How am I supposed to give you advice if I don't even know the question?"

"I didn't ask for advice."

"Well, I'm giving it anyway." He heard her inhale deeply, stalling. "Kyouya, the only thing I can tell you is to think about it. What could you stand to do? What could you stand to do without?"

Kyouya snorted. "Thanks for the vague answer."

"I've told you before, haven't I?" Haruhi continued, ignoring him. "You need to be more honest with yourself. What is it that you truly want?"

Though he chose to remain silent, Kyouya could feel a soft smile crossing his lips.

Haruhi hesitated on the other line. "Was that not helpful?" she asked worriedly.

"Mmm . . ."

"Too cheesy?"

Kyouya's grin widened. "And here you were lecturing me on how this wasn't a shojo."

Haruhi laughed, and it was a beautiful laugh. Kyouya almost joined in, but then the laughter stopped abruptly with a strangled sort of choke.

"Haruhi?"

She didn't respond, save for a slight intake of breath. But in her silence, Kyouya imaged that he could hear a faint rumble sound in the background.

"Hello? Haru—"

"Uh, Kyouya!" Haruhi interrupted, a little bit of franticness slipping into her voice. "Well, um, since I gave you the advice, I suppose I should be going now. I hope things work out. Kay bye!"

"Wait, I'm not—"

The phone's solemn beeping cut him off. Kyouya scowled at his cell irritably for a moment before tossing it in the back seat and urging the car to go a little faster.

Less than ten minutes later, he parked next to Haruhi's apartment. Seeing the dark complex like that gave him an odd feeling. Like maybe he was inappropriately sneaking. It was almost midnight after all. Idly, he wondered if Ranka was home as he slipped on a raincoat. How would he explain his late night arrival? But a clap of thunder made up his mind for him, and the next thing he knew, Kyouya was dashing out in the rain, running towards Haruhi's apartment even though all of the mud puddles were probably ruining his expensive shoes.

He caught his breath once he made it to Haruhi's door and was shielded from the rain. Even with his coat, it was still very cold. He shivered as he unlocked her apartment and stepped inside.

It was dark. Not that that was unusual. Kyouya turned on a light and wandered around. When he passed by the fridge, his suspicions proved true. Haruhi was here alone. Ranka had left a flowery pink post-it that said he would be at work extra late tonight. On the inside, Kyouya felt himself relax. At least that meant avoiding awkward situations, for the time being anyway.

"Haruhi?" he called.

The entire apartment flared with light for a brief moment, dazzling Kyouya's eyes. Not even five seconds later came the thunder, loud enough to give the apartment the slightest tremble. The storm must have picked up strength as it barreled along. After the thunder, Kyouya's ears detected a small squeak coming from the far end of the apartment. He headed towards it and found himself standing in front of the one room he had not yet been in.

Haruhi's bedroom.

Hesitating, Kyouya lifted his fist to knock, but he changed his mind and just walked right in. As his eyes grew used to the darkness, he spotted a rounded lump in the middle of Haruhi's bed.

"Haruhi?"

At first nothing happened. Then, slowly, cautiously, Haruhi's head peaked out from under the blankets. She almost looked like a comical little turtle, only she certainly wasn't laughing.

Gaping in shock, Haruhi choked out his name. But another roll of thunder sent her scurrying back inside her blankets.

Kyouya took off his shoes and his coat, and he walked over to Haruhi, tiptoeing even though he knew that they were the only ones in the house. He carefully sat on the edge of the bed and tried to unearth Haruhi.

"I'm here, Haruhi," he whispered gently.

The next thunder was almost deafening and right above the apartment. With a soft scream, Haruhi suddenly lunged at Kyouya, who was caught off guard and knocked backwards. The terrified girl clung to him tightly, shivering and whimpering into his shirt with her eyes screwed shut. Kyouya lied there in a daze, all too fully aware of how she was lying on top of him in the middle of the bed. The way her body naturally seemed to fit into his, and the thudding of her heart above his.

A stray voice in his head told him that he should take advantage of the situation. That he should save her by distracting her.

"Kyouya—" Haruhi moaned before jumping at the roar outside.

Kyouya bit his lip, swallowed down hard. He rolled her over, as if attempting to shield her from her fears with his own body.

"Shhh, I know," he murmured, kissing her left temple. "You don't have to be scared anymore. I'm here."

But Haruhi didn't seem to hear. Her arms remained rigid and tense around his torso.

"I'm here, Haruhi," Kyouya repeated.

"Can you stay?" Haruhi squeaked out in a tiny, pitiful voice.

Kyouya's brow furrowed. He didn't know if he trusted himself to last an entire night. "Haruhi," he said patiently. "Be reasonable. What would your—?"

Haruhi leaned up and kissed him. But just when Kyouya felt the last bit of his self-control slip away, she pulled back and whispered, "Please."

Kyouya waited for the next roll of thunder to die down before answering. Although he noticed that this time Haruhi didn't flinch as much as before.

"How can I ever say no to you, Haruhi?" he wondered aloud.

With a defeated exhale, he rolled off of her for a moment to retrieve the blankets. Once he had covered them both, he held her in his arms again and prepared himself for what he thought would be a long night.

In reality, however, as soon as the storm had passed and Haruhi's breathing slowed, he found himself drifting off, and he slept better than he had in days.


	13. Chapter 13

Haruhi awoke with the smell of cologne lingering in her nostrils. As her eyes slowly fluttered open, she found that all she could see was white. White. A white shirt?

Haruhi's heart skipped a beat, and she looked up. Sure enough, she spotted those recognizable glasses, even in the dimness of her bedroom. Her sempai was in her bed, and she was tangled in his arms and legs.

Immediately, the girl's mind raced through last night's events. Right. The thunderstorm. Kyouya had come over and . . .

Haruhi shyly snuck a peak at his face again. Had he really spent the whole night with her, out of concern for her? Haruhi didn't even once remember him complaining like he usually did, even though she was _sure_ that the quality of her bed and sheets were nowhere _near_ what he was used to. Her mattress was used after all, and Haruhi had had years to get used to its stiff, lumpy state.

But Haruhi didn't marvel on this idea for long. At a glance toward her clock, which flashed a cheerful 9:10 in the morning, her heart skipped a beat again. Her father! Was he home yet? Had he noticed?

"Kyouya," Haruhi whispered, nudging him a little. She feared waking him so early, but she really needed to check on the situation. "Kyouya, let me get up."

He didn't respond. Haruhi let out a shaky sigh. "It figures," she mumbled to herself. Slowly, carefully, she began to disentangle herself from him, pausing every few seconds to see if Kyouya was still asleep. It was a process that took several minutes, and Haruhi's heart was hammering the entire time. But once finally free, she quickly slipped out of the room. Dread filled the pit of her stomach when she stood in front of her father's bedroom, pressing an ear against the wood. She held her breath—

—and then let it out. The girl couldn't hear her father's unbelievably loud snoring. She wandered the rest of the apartment just to make sure, but it was dark and quiet. Ranka had said that he would be back late last night, but perhaps he had changed his mind at the last minute and had decided to go drinking with workmates. Usually, Haruhi didn't like when he drank all night, but for the first time, she was slightly relieved. Now she wouldn't have to answer strange questions.

Haruhi went to the bathroom to relieve herself, and after a moment of consideration, she decided to brush her teeth as well. It always made her feel better when her mouth was clean. Once all human necessities were taken care of, she tiptoed back to her room.

Kyouya was still asleep, his glasses askew. Haruhi suppressed a giggle at his sprawled out form. For being so impeccably neat and well-postured in the day, he was a mess in his sleep. Smiling fondly, Haruhi sat on the edge of the bed and removed his glasses so they would not get damaged. A little voice told her that she needed to wake him up and get him out of the house before her father came home, but Haruhi was a little reluctant. All she wanted to do was to let him rest. Those dark circles under his eyes told her that he needed it bad.

She watched him for a few minutes more, but eventually Haruhi grew anxious. She bent down so she could whisper in his ear, "Kyouya . . . Kyouya, I'm sorry, but I really need you to wake up." When he still wouldn't respond, Haruhi spoke a little louder. "Kyouya! Wake up alrea—!"

Arms shot out and tightened around Haruhi, choking the words in her throat. She squeaked in surprise, despite herself, and Kyouya, still clutching her, rolled over to the other side. He lifted his head and squinted at the clock on the nightstand.

Haruhi felt his groan resonating deep within his chest. "Haruhi . . ."

"Y-yeah?"

"Why the hell did you choose to wake up at such a forsaken hour of the day?"

His tone was grumpy, but it wasn't nearly as angry as Haruhi had feared it would be. She gained a little bit of confidence from this fact. "Kyouya, you need to wake up," she repeated resolutely.

Almost like a selfish little child, Kyouya snuggled closer to Haruhi and said, "I don't want to."

"Kyouya," Haruhi sighed, slightly exasperated.

He only held her tighter, preventing escape.

"Kyouya, my dad could come home at anytime now. And . . . well I'd rather not have a bunch of really weird questions to have to answer."

Amusedly, he studied her blush. _Ah, so she did realize the implications of asking a boy to spend the night with her,_ Kyouya thought to himself. _And here I thought she was just too oblivious and naïve. _

"Hmm? So he's not home still?" Kyouya asked.

"Well . . . no, but—"

Haruhi caught a flicker of Kyouya's crooked grin. "Then there's no rush, is there?" he replied in a seductively smooth voice.

Haruhi swallowed.

He rolled them over again, and now Haruhi was pinned underneath him. He ducked his head and brushed his lips against her neck, not quite kissing her, but enjoying Haruhi's small shiver. "Not only did you make me stay with you during the storm last night, but you also had the audacity to wake me up ridiculously early. My, my, Haruhi. I'd say you've accumulated quite of bit of personal debt."

"You're the one who chose to stay," Haruhi said, trying to distract herself from his hands sliding up her sides.

"Only because a certain person begged me to with tears in her beautiful little eyes." But Kyouya was only teasing her. He most likely would have stayed no matter what she said. Whether or not he would have done so PG or not was a better question.

"Kyouya," Haruhi gasped out in warning when she felt him nip her ear. She tried to squirm and push his chest away.

"You know the rules of our personal debt. You can't—"

"—afford the steep interest. Yeah, yeah," Haruhi interrupted quickly, but Kyouya heard the slight ring of nervousness in her voice.

"Interest gets added on by the second, as a matter of fact," Kyouya said, smirking. "It's already climbing so high."

"How about I pay you in installments?" Haruhi suggested lightly.

Kyouya chuckled. "I don't think so." And he leaned in for a kiss.

But Haruhi stopped him, placing a hand on both sides of his face. "You," she said, narrowing her eyes playfully but firmly, "have morning breath."

Kyouya scowled grumpily, and this time when Haruhi pushed, he got off of her. Ignoring his blatant ill-temper, Haruhi smiled and stood up, brushing herself off. "How about for my first installment, I make you some coffee? But then you really have to go."

"Do whatever," Kyouya grumbled, lying back down and hugging one of Haruhi's pillows to him. It smelled like her, even if it didn't protest as much as she did. He buried his face in it while Haruhi rolled her eyes, walking off.

She bustled about the kitchen, preparing the coffee. While she was waiting for the water to heat up, she figured she might as well make him some breakfast too. _But what would he like? _she wondered. _Does he even eat breakfast?_

Haruhi puzzled over it a little before deciding to go the easy route and make eggs, a default breakfast that everyone enjoys. _Hmm, but how does he like his eggs? _Turns out, Haruhi didn't need to bother worrying about that. As soon as the fridge opened, she noticed the unfortunate absence of eggs. Haruhi hissed out in annoyance. _That's right. I needed to go to the grocery store today. _They were out of a lot of other breakfast items as well. Haruhi bit her lip before shrugging. _Oh well. Kyouya's high upbringing will just have to settle for frozen waffles. And if he won't eat it, then I'll just save it for dad. _

She popped waffles into the toaster and started rummaging around for syrup. But then she glanced out the window. Her mouth fell open.

Kyouya was just beginning to drift back asleep when the bedroom door slammed open. A wild-eyed Haruhi was standing in the doorway with two mugs of coffee. She shoved one mug into his unsuspecting hands and practically yanked him to his feet.

"Here! Coffee! Now go!" Haruhi half-shouted, panicking.

"Haruhi, what—?" But then Kyouya heard the front door opened.

Haruhi jumped in alarm and started shoving Kyouya toward her closet. "N-nevermind! Just hide and don't come out!" she whispered.

And so, Kyouya was dumped unceremoniously in the crammed closet. He was still holding onto Haruhi's pillow. Irritation was starting to creep up on him, but he swallowed it down with a swig of coffee. Besides, he couldn't really stay mad at her . . . not when it was just so amusing to watch her wriggle and squirm in anxiety.

"HA-RU-HI!" Ranka cried as he danced into her room. Through the crack in the closet, Kyouya could see Ranka attempt to glomp his precious daughter, but Haruhi side-stepped him and displayed her coffee mug.

"Oh, did you only just wake up? That's pretty unusual for you," Ranka remarked.

Like a halfway indifferent spectator, Kyouya sipped his coffee and watched Haruhi stammer and struggle to make up something.

"Ahh, um . . . w-well I had a pretty eventful night."

"Hmmm?" Something in her tone made Ranka scrutinize her carefully. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Th-th-the thunderstorm! Yeah, there was a thunderstorm last night." Haruhi lowered her eyes a little shyly and muttered, "I couldn't sleep."

_Smooth trick_, Kyouya thought to himself.

At her adorably troubled expression, Ranka seemed to melt. He glomped her for real this time, almost spilling Haruhi's coffee. "OH, my Haruhi! So it did rain here? It did? Daddy is so sorry he wasn't there for you! He didn't realize. Oh, you poor child!"

"It's alright. I'm fine now," Haruhi sighed, freeing herself.

"Were those waffles I smelled in the kitchen? Yay, waffles! Daddy's so hungry you know—" Ranka turned to walk out, but then he stopped. Kyouya knew what he was looking at right away, and he thought to himself, _Whoops._

"Haruhi?" Ranka said, picking up a still damp jacket from her desk. "Whose is this?"

Kyouya saw Haruhi flinch all over. "O-oh, th-that." But she recovered surprisingly quick. "Well, Kyouya and I had gone on a dinner date, and when we were coming back, it started raining. He gave me his jacket, and I guess I forgot to give it back."

". . . did he give you his shoes too?"

"Uhhhh?"

Kyouya took another gulp of coffee. He knew he should probably care a lot more than he did, but he couldn't help but shake his head and grin crookedly. _Well, well, Haruhi. How are you getting past _that_ one?_

Haruhi was starting to scowl in frustration. Resisting the urge to throw one of the shoes at Kyouya for being so stupid and leaving them there, she took a deep breath and said the first thing that came to her mind. "You see, it was really muddy and everything when it was rainy. His expensive shoes got all mucky, and I offered to get them cleaned."

". . . so you kept his shoes?" Ranka said, still confused and unbelieving.

"Yeah."

"He went home _barefoot_?"

Kyouya was beginning to chuckle at this point. He stifled the noise with Haruhi's pillow.

Haruhi finally lost her patience and exclaimed, "Look, he's a rich bastard! He carries around extra pairs of everything in his limo specifically for that reason, alright?"

"Aww, Haruhi. Now you sound mad. Is everything all right between you and Kyouya?"

Kyouya's laughter instantly died.

"I . . . I don't want to talk about it," Haruhi muttered, turning away a little.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Ranka persisted, coming a little closer and putting an arm around her shoulder.

"It's nothing, really Dad. Just . . . being with him can be a little . . . _troublesome_ is all. I'm fine."

Ranka pouted down at her, not convinced. But Haruhi blankly stared right back at him, signaling that the conversation was over. Ranka sighed in defeat and finally walked out. "Alright, alright. Don't tell your dad anything. I'll be in the kitchen. Have you already helped yourself to some waffles?"

"No. I'll be there in a second," she called.

She waited a few minutes, making sure the coast was really clear. Then she tiptoed over to the closet and opened it again. They stared at each other for a bit, and Kyouya worried slightly about the serious air.

But then Haruhi scowled at him. "Troublesome, rich bastard," she stated.

A little relieved, Kyouya stepped out and finished the last of his coffee. He handed the mug back to her, who took it grudgingly. "How kind of you to offer to clean my shoes. Was that another one of your 'installments' you were talking about?"

Haruhi rolled her eyes.

"Well, regardless of your nice intentions, I'm afraid I can't accept the offer." He sat down at her desk and put on his shoes. "For one, I'm not sure I quite trust your commoner cleaning skills. Two, I do not actually carry extra pairs of shoes in my car, and I'd rather not go home barefoot."

"Whatever, can you please just go already?" Haruhi pleaded softly, her eyes darting back at her door warily.

Kyouya stood up and put on his jacket. "Getting rid of me so fast?" he remarked lightly with a smile.

"At least it gives me a reason to avoid paying back my debt for now," Haruhi responded just as lightly.

Kyouya chuckled, and he stood right in front of Haruhi. She blinked up at him, waiting. But she didn't have to wait long. Kyouya put his hands on her shoulders and gave her a quick kiss goodbye. And then, as if that didn't satisfy him, he pulled Haruhi in a tight hug. "Thank you," he whispered."

"For what?"

Kyouya didn't know.

When he finally let her go, Haruhi helped him slip out of her bedroom window. They said their goodbyes again, and then Kyouya walked down the steps to his car. The cold winter morning was invigorating. Or maybe it wasn't just that. Despite waking up so early, Kyouya felt a surge of energy sweeping through him. Perhaps the combination of caffeine and Haruhi's scent had given him a strange new high, one that left him almost giddy as he drove away. He mentally chastised himself and told himself that he was being an idiot. It's not like he had slept _with _her. He had just _slept_ with her. But suddenly that one night had changed _everything_.

Kyouya felt a strange desire to stop the car and run the rest of the way home. He wanted to shout at the top of his lungs for no reason at all. But instead, he only pressed the gas pedal a little harder. A burden was lifted, his mind was clear. And a smirk crossed his face as he realized the one thing he _had_ to do.

But when he was waiting outside his father's conference room, waiting for the business meeting to end, the good feeling finally faded. Kyouya fidgeted restlessly in his seat. What was it he really wanted . . . ?

The doors opened. Kyouya's head snapped up, and he stood and bowed to the business leaders pouring out of the room. Once empty, Kyouya adjusted his glasses and stepped inside.

"Yes, Kyouya? You needed me?" His father said, barely looking up as he tidied the room and gathered the notes taken during the meeting.

The boy watched his father for the longest time, a glare hiding his eyes.

"I have made my decision."

Slowly, Kyouya closed the door behind him.

* * *

Yuichi stood next to the door, his back leaning against the wall. It was quiet, but if he concentrated hard enough, he could hear the two voices within the conference room. After listening for a few minutes, Yuichi grinned. "Typical," he laughed quietly. "Kyouya, you're just too predictable."

Yuichi peeled himself from the wall and walked away with his hands in his pockets.

* * *

Sleep was impossible that night.

Deciding to put his insomnia to good use, Kyouya reached for his laptop. Final touches were all that were needed, and then he could finally get some sleep in peace. It only took about an hour, and when he was done, he plugged his iPod to the computer and saved a copy for safe keeping.

He finally turned off the laptop sometime after midnight. For the first time, he almost couldn't get comfortable in his bed. He wished that he could have somehow stole one of Haruhi's pillows. But that was just a fantasy. It turned out it didn't matter anyway. Eventually, he did fall asleep.

And at 11:54 the next morning, he was rudely awakened by Tamaki's obnoxious ringtone.

_Why is everyone so determined to wake me up at ungodly hours?_ he wondered crossly, blindly reaching for his phone. _Two mornings in a row is unforgivable._

And Kyouya was just about to tell Tamaki so, but before he could even get a word in, Tamaki was yelling at him, "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?"


	14. Chapter 14

Haruhi stared up at the ceiling and sighed for the tenth time that morning (yes, she was counting). It was already 8:23 A.M., and she really needed to get dressed so that she could make it to the supermarket special in time, but all she really felt like doing was lying on her bed, eagle-spread, sighing the morning away. Actually no, it's not that she felt like wasting her morning, she just had no motivation at the moment.

"And to think, just yesterday morning, Kyouya was sleeping in the same bed with me," Haruhi sighed out of the blue. "So strange . . ." And then she blinked at what had randomly popped out of her mouth. It made her fidget and squirm uncomfortably, but worst of all, it made Haruhi wonder. Which now felt stranger to her? The fact that she had spent the night with a guy, or that she was strangely disappointed not to have woken up in his arms once more?

The doorbell rang. Haruhi jumped to an upright position, clutching the blankets to her chest. Her heart hammered wildly. Could it be Kyouya? She began to scramble out of bed—

—and then stopped in the hallway. She hissed out in annoyance and rubbed her face. What was she thinking? Why would Kyouya EVER wake up this early? She was letting her imagination get the best of her.

The doorbell rang again, a little more impatiently. "I'm coming!" Haruhi called, sullenly wondering who on earth would visit at this time. She hoped it wouldn't wake her dad up.

Haruhi opened the door . . .

"HARUHI!"

. . . and quickly slammed it again before she could be glomped. The doorbell rang with increased frequency and irritation until Haruhi finally gave up with a sigh.

"Sempai, what do you want?" she asked when she reopened the door.

But of course, she couldn't get a coherent answer for several minutes, for Tamaki launched into a dramatic tirade about how Haruhi did not love him NEARLY enough and how HE would DIE for her and just where had all the filial RESPECT gone these days and much more as Haruhi was showered with tears and hugs.

Haruhi rolled her eyes. If Tamaki made much more fuss, her dad would surely wake up . . . and then Tamaki would most likely wind up in the grave. She returned his hug and half-heartedly patted his back. "Yes, yes, sempai. I'm sorry. It's just early, is all. What did you need?"

Tamaki quieted down when Haruhi hugged him back, his face suddenly sober. For the briefest moment, he rested his cheek on her head and closed his eyes.

". . . Sempai?"

"Oh, sorry!" Tamaki laughed nervously, instantly releasing her and jumping back a couple of steps. (Haruhi raised her eyebrows at the sudden distance) "I forgot for a moment. But I'm here now!"

There was a slight pause.

"Uh . . . here for what?"

Tamaki gasped and zoomed into his corner of woe. Before rainclouds could form over his head, Haruhi dragged him back to his feet. "Sempai! Could you hold off of your overdramatic tendencies for just a _few_ minutes? Here for what? Why are you here?"

"Ehh? But you were the one who _promised_!" Tamaki pouted, looking so much like his puppy Lou-chan that Haruhi had to resist the urge to laugh. "You promised that we could have bonding time this weekend!"

Another pause.

"I . . . did?"

Haruhi grabbed him by the collar of his shirt before he could go zooming into his corner again.

"Wahhh! Haruhi's such a mean daughter! Forgetting all of her promises to her beloved father, how unthinkable!" Tamaki cried.

"Look, I don't ever remember telling you that you could come to my house this week, but if I did, it was obviously just on the fly and I didn't really mean it," Haruhi said bluntly, and with absolutely zero bad intentions.

This time, Tamaki just collapsed to the ground, dead.

Haruhi heaved a sigh and massaged her temples. "Listen, Sempai. I'm sorry. But this is a little sudden for me. I already had plans for today."

"Like what?" Tamaki huffed, glowering at the ground like a sullen kid. "What is more important than being with your father?"

"Well . . . for example, I really had to go to the grocery store today. Our fridge is almost empty."

Tamaki froze, and then he perked up a bit. "Grocery shopping?" he inquired.

Haruhi winced. She already recognized the glowing light in his eyes. "No, Sempai. I don't want—"

"What are we waiting for then?" Tamaki exclaimed, seizing Haruhi's arm and dragging her down the stairs in a way that was becoming entirely too familiar and commonplace. "Let's go! Grocery store! Grocery store! Commoner's grocery store!"

"Wait, Sempai! And least let me get dressed!" Haruhi protested.

Tamaki stopped and seemed to realize what she was wearing for the first time. A black camisole that was a little too small and showed a thin sliver of her white belly. A pair of what looked like her father's gym shorts that were in danger of slipping off her tiny hips.

"HARUHI! What are you WEARING!"

"Pajamas, Sempai," Haruhi sighed in exasperation.

"A young, pretty girl such as yourself should not show so much skin in public!"

"_You're_ the one who dragged me out in front of the apartment building," Haruhi retorted, but on the inside she wondered at what he had said. Tamaki had called her pretty? Ah, but it was probably just "fatherly love," wasn't it? She was really starting to get tired of that act.

"Here, quick! Cover up in my jacket and get dressed immediately!" Tamaki order, draping his coat over Haruhi's shoulders before she could say a word. She blushed a little, but he was too busy escorting her back inside to catch it.

After a five minute shower and a quick search through the closet, Haruhi was ready to go, bundled up in her warmest jacket and scarf. It was a chilly day today. Though it was only December, Haruhi was already longing for spring. She met back with Tamaki in the kitchen, but before the two of them could escape, Ranka had woken up and discovered an uninvited Tamaki in the apartment. Then came a bunch of yelling and disentangling of limbs, and finally Haruhi and Tamaki were on their way.

"I thought we would never make it out of there," Haruhi said breathlessly.

"A-ahh," was all Tamaki said. He was still trying to fix his disheveled clothes. "Any chance that one day Ranka will actually like me?"

"Probably not."

". . . do you have to be so blunt?"

Haruhi threw him a sideways glance before continuing, "I don't know why you bother him so much. He's pretty okay with the twins, and he's practically in love with Kyou—" But Haruhi choked on his name. She turned her head and hoped that Tamaki hadn't noticed. But even _he_ wasn't _that_ stupid.

"Kyouya, huh? Well, he's a cheater," Tamaki pouted. "He's always been good at putting on the right face to make people like him. He's not genuine like _moi_."

"That's not the only reason," Haruhi said hotly without thinking, and then blinked at herself for defending Kyouya.

Tamaki also seemed surprised. His expression went funny. "No need to get so mad, Haruhi. I wasn't insulting him for real. _I'm_ his friend too."

"Uh . . . right," Haruhi mumbled, faintly embarrassed.

It got quiet between the two, and the strain of the silence was almost worse than dealing with Tamaki's ridiculous antics. Haruhi was beginning to wish he had not come. But she was finally spared when they walked into the grocery store and Tamaki's face lit up like a child's. He had been there once before, but he made Haruhi give him a tour of every single row. The cereal aisle really killed him.

"So many colors! So many sugars! How do you even choose?" Tamaki asked with wide eyes, his arm full of boxes.

Haruhi chuckled and returned all of Tamaki's cereal boxes back to the shelf. Then she picked a cheaper, less exciting brand that wasn't infested with sugar. "Easy. You pick a cereal, and if it's good, you stick with that one cereal."

"Ehh? No fun!" Tamaki started grabbing boxes at random again. "Then I'll just get some for myself! It's more fun to be adventurous, isn't it?"

"It's just cereal, Sempai."

"But you should always give other things a try. Who knows? Coco Puffs may be better than Coco Pebbles!"

Haruhi stared at the boxes dubiously. "They're both basically chocolate. I don't see why there'd be a difference."

"You don't know that!"

Haruhi heaved a sigh and simply pushed the cart to the next aisle. Tamaki had a small panic attack when he realized she wasn't there, but then he met back up with her where the instant noodles were located. And the process started all over again. It took Haruhi nearly twice as long as it usually did to shop, but gradually she let go of her irritation and simply enjoyed his company. But every time he started with his daddy act, the eye-rolling resumed, and her patience slowly chipped away.

"You should have let me buy you that penguin doll," Tamaki protested as they walked out of the store.

"I didn't even want it, Sempai."

"Yes you did! Don't even lie. I saw you staring at it multiple times when we were waiting at the cashier!"

"No I didn't."

"You can't fool these princely eyes!"

Haruhi averted her gaze and blushed a little. "W-well . . . I didn't _need_ it."

"Daddy doesn't care! Daddy would have bought it for you anyway!"

"Sempai," Haruhi sighed.

"Daddy knows how much you wanted it. I can get it right now if you wait for me!"

"Sempai, I don't—"

"Daddies just want their daughters to be happy! Here, I really go back and buy it again. And while we're at it, let's go get some ice cream. More daddy-daughter bonding time—"

"Tamaki-sempai!" Haruhi half-shouted.

Tamaki stopped and looked back at her.

"Daddy this, daddy that," Haruhi muttered, irritated. "It's getting real old, Sempai. Newsflash. You aren't my father. Can't you view me as something more than a daughter?"

They stared at each other, several feet between them as if they were suddenly reduced to strangers. Haruhi half-expected him to start wailing, to tear at his hair and hug her tightly until she took it back. But he didn't. Her sempai was startlingly sober.

Several cars passed by on the street, honking and making a general ruckus. Moms pushed their babies in strollers. A jackhammer sounded from far away, announcing what might be another three year construction which was supposed to be only three months. Life walked along all around, not even noticing the two people frozen on the sidewalk.

Finally, Tamaki was the first person to move. He shifted the plastic bags in his hands and took a few steps forward, but then seemed to think better of it. "Fine," he said, his voice guarded. "If not a daughter . . . then can I see you as a girlfriend?" Something seemed to occur to him, and he quickly amended, "A-and I don't mean a friend that happens to be a girl! Couple-styled boyfriend girlfriend stuff."

Haruhi's eyebrows rose up in shock, and the breath whooshed out of her. "What?" she asked, her voice strangled.

Tamaki grinned weakly. "Ahhh . . . well, that probably wasn't too smooth. I was planning on waiting a little longer to tell you, but . . ." He shrugged, and waited anxiously for her answer—

—but Haruhi was too busy gaping at him in shock. "But you . . . and the . . . I thought I was . . . huh?" she spluttered unintelligibly.

"What? You want me to try again? Okay, uhhh . . ." Bouncing on his heels a little nervously, he flashed her an oh so vulnerable and warm smile. "Will you go out with me?" And when Haruhi still didn't respond, Tamaki said half-jokingly, "What's a matter? Why so quiet? Don't tell me you're going to give me a big fat 'no' in your usual brutal honesty. Haruhi?"

And then the phone rang.

Haruhi shifted a little embarrassment, but Tamaki laughed it off and told her to answer it. He seemed to be grateful for an interruption as he ran a hand through his hair fretfully. She set her groceries down and reached for her phone inside her pocket. She didn't recognize the ringtone, which meant it was either a stranger or someone who didn't call her often. A quick peek at the caller ID didn't give any answers either.

"Um, hello?" Haruhi said curiously.

"I presume this is Miss Haruhi Fujioka?"

"Yes. That's correct." Haruhi's face scrunched up. The voice sounded a little familiar. Who was it?

"You may or may not know me. I am Tachibana, currently employed at the Ootori mansion, and I am particularly close to Master Kyouya."

"Kyouya?" Haruhi gasped, and Tamaki shot her a look.

"He had confided in me about you, so I am aware of your current situation."

Haruhi's brow furrowed. She didn't remember Kyouya saying that he had told anyone but Fuyumi.

"But I am also aware that he has not told you of his departure."

"Departure?" the girl echoed, bemused. "What departure?"

"Master Kyouya has decided to take on the Ootori's new firm in South Africa. He's leaving today. He will not finish school at Ouran High School. His graduation papers were filled out in secret. And the likelihood of him returning to Japan from now on is very little. He will be too busy setting the foundation for the new business. I personally do not agree with the decision, but it is not my place to judge, and it has already . . ."

And on Tachibana went, but Haruhi tuned him out. Shocked, she lowered her phone and stared out at nothing in particular. She wasn't even aware of breathing. Not breathing? Was she suffocating? Was she dying without even realizing it?

"Haruhi?" Tamaki asked worriedly. He grabbed her shoulders and tried to force Haruhi to look at him. "Haruhi, what's wrong?"

"Kyouya, he . . . he," she whispered.

He's not even going to say goodbye?

Tamaki snatched Haruhi's cell and put it on speaker phone.

"—listening? Fujioka, are you listening to me?"

Haruhi shook her head, but Tamaki quickly intervened and said, "Yes. Yes we're listening. Who is this?"

Tachibana paused when he heard the new voice, and when he continued, his voice was a little guarded. "I was saying, _Fujioka_, his flight to South Africa is scheduled to leave from Kyotouwazawa." Now it was Tamaki's turn to stare. "It is possible that you can catch up to him before he leaves. Where are you currently located?"

Haruhi twirled around this way and that, frantically searching for a street sign. "On the corner of Buki and Fourth Street. In the Omoji district."

"There is a train station not too far from there, is there not?"

"Several blocks away," Haruhi answered.

There was the sound of typing on the other side. Haruhi waited impatiently, shifting from foot to foot. Then she heard Tachibana suck in his breath.

"What, Tachibana, what?" Haruhi asked.

"Tachibana?" Tamaki mouthed in confusion.

"Good and bad news, Fujioka. There is actually a direct train to Kyotouwazawa, but it leaves in approximately twenty minutes. If I arrange the ticket and other matters, can you make it in time?"

"Yes!" Haruhi said sharply before hanging up the phone. She was already running off in the other direction when Tamaki grabbed her arm.

"Wait, what are you doing?" he cried.

"I have to go!" Haruhi said, trying to wriggle free.

"And do what?"

That question smote Haruhi's adrenaline, and she stopped in her tracks. What _was_ she doing?

"Here, at least let me call a limo," Tamaki said, already pulling out his phone. To himself, he muttered, "This is so unbelievably crazy."

But when Tamaki released her and dialed the number, Haruhi gritted her teeth and shouted, "It won't come in time. I have to leave now!" And with that, she ran down the street.

"Haruhi!" Tamaki yelled.

At the street corner, Haruhi turned and, while jogging backward, called, "I'm sorry, Sempai. I'm sorry, but Kyouya is—" She didn't finish. She turned right back around and pushed herself even faster.

Tamaki watched her go wordlessly, his forehead furrowed with worry and disbelief. Once he could no longer see her, he returned to his phone. He punched in a new number and held it up to his ear. With each ring, his anger began to build, until the other person finally picked up on the other line.

"If you do not want to die within twenty-four hours, I suggest you—"

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?" Tamaki yelled, cutting his best friend off.

There was a pause. "And here I was trying my best to remain civil even though it's bloody twelve in the afternoon," Kyouya said dryly, even though it was obvious he was struggling to retain his temper as well. "_You're_ the one who called me, idiot, so why do you get yelling privileges?"

"Because like it or not, you're just as much of an idiot as I am! Why didn't you tell anyone?" Tamaki demanded.

"Tell anyone what, precisely?"

"South . . . Africa," Tamaki hissed.

There was a longer pause.

"Kyouya—"

"How did you find out about that?" Kyouya asked quietly.

"Does it matter? How could you just forget about all of your friends and—"

"I didn't realize that word of my refusal would get out so fast."

It took a few seconds for his meaning to register in Tamaki's mind. His mouth falling open, Tamaki let out a big, clueless, "Huh?"


	15. Chapter 15

There was the screeching of brakes, a loud car horn that seized the heart and sounded throughout the body. The breath whooshed out of Haruhi, and she screwed her eyes shut in a panic.

* * *

Most people generally did not appreciate being woken up with the sound of yelling, regardless of the reason. Kyouya pinched the bride of his nose and clamped his mouth shut in an attempt to remain calm. But then, his over-dramatic friend, in the middle of his (unnecessary) rampage, said something that caught Kyouya's ear.

South Africa.

He was not startled. Kyouya did not get startled so easily. _A better word,_ Kyouya thought with a sigh as he grudgingly retrieved his glasses, _is mildly caught off guard._

"I did not realize word of my refusal would get out so fast," Kyouya confessed.

There was a long moment of silence, in which Kyouya was so very sorely tempted to hang up the phone. But then Tamaki, who WAS very much startled, answered.

"HUH?"

"Did you not just tell me that you had found out?" Kyouya grunted, leaning against his pillows drowsily. Ahhh, he never seemed to get enough sleep. Not enough sleep for dealing with _this_, anyway.

Then came the half-brained babbling, and eventually Kyouya got so pissed that he hung up for real. He set the cell phone down on the blanket, as if giving Tamaki a few minutes to compose himself. Sure enough, Tamaki soon called again, sounding much calmer, if not a bit sulky.

"Alright, now let's see if we're on the same page," Kyouya said, a little too evenly, considering his current state of temper. "You heard that my father had offered me a business deal, correct?"

"Yes!" Tamaki exclaimed.

Kyouya winced at his loud voice. "And you heard that the deal involved me going to South Africa?"

"Yes, yes!"

"And then I turned my father down—"

"But that doesn't make any sense!" Tamaki whined. Then he gasped, as if he just realized something. "But Haruhi! Haruhi thinks you're leaving! She's trying to find you right now!"

That made Kyouya blink. "Haruhi's with you?"

"She _was_. But then she got a phone call telling us that you were leaving for South Africa." Tamaki paused before continuing a little uneasily. "Kyouya . . . the person calling said he was Tachibana, but . . . it didn't sound like Tachibana at all. Tachibana has such a deep, gruff voice, and the person calling didn't sound like that at all."

Someone was claiming to be Tachibana? But why?

"Then where is Haruhi now?" Kyouya asked, trying to ignore the way his voice rose.

"She's running over to the train station. The person told us that you were going to fly out of Kyotouwazawa."

" . . . Kyotouwazawa?"

"Mm-hmm!"

If it was possible to punch people via cell phones, Kyouya would have just done so with sweet relish. "Idiot. That doesn't exist. Are you making things up?"

"NO, NO, NO! He said _KYOTOUWAZAWA!_ I'm sure of it!" Tamaki protested. "Uhh, or maybe it was Kyotuzazawa. Or Kotoi Wazua. Or—"

"Never mind, it doesn't matter!" Kyouya snapped. He half-fell out of bed and looked around for something to wear. "Just go find Haruhi and stop her. I don't like the sound of this."

"Kyouya," Tamaki said just before Kyouya could hang up.

"_What?_"

"What's been going on with you? You do realize we're friends, don't we?"

Kyouya didn't answer for the longest time. Then he angrily snatched up a pair of pants.

"If we're friends, you can tell me anything."

"It doesn't involve you," Kyouya retorted.

He expected Tamaki to get angry as well, but the blond was surprisingly cool. "You should have seen the way Haruhi ran after you," he said softly. "Do you like her, Kyouya? Because . . . because I think it's pretty clear that she cares a lot about you."

"I . . ."

"I love Haruhi, but that's not the point at the moment. Haruhi likes you, and maybe you like her back. Or maybe you only played along and used her. But now Haruhi is in trouble, which would mean—"

Kyouya hung up. The phone slipped from his fingers and crashed beside his feet. He did not want his friend to voice the same line of thought that Kyouya had also been thinking.

_Which would mean that it was my fault . . . it was my fault for allowing her to get involved with me._

And then Kyouya realized what Tamaki had said. Friends. Tamaki confessed that he loved Haruhi, but he also said that he and Kyouya were still friends. Never once had he breathed the word "rivals."

"That idiot's as hopeless as ever," Kyouya muttered, and he was almost tempted to smile.

But then he remembered Haruhi. He grabbed a jacket and hurried out the room, not before first retrieving his cell phone.

"Ah! Kyouya, where are you going so early in the day?" Fuyumi cried as he raced past her.

"Nowhere," he said tersely, not even sparing a glance at his sister as he flipped open his cell and dialed a number. Tachibana picked up on the second ring.

"Yes, young master?"

"Tachibana-san, I need a car ready for me. Immediately."

"Yes sir."

"And by any chance, have you made a call to a young woman by the name of Haruhi Fujioka?"

"Fujioka . . . I am not sure I know who you are talking about."

Kyouya gritted his teeth and turned sharply into one of their living rooms, which lead to the garage. "That's acceptable. I can now eliminate one—"

"Good morning, little brother."

Kyouya stopped dead in his tracks. It had been dark in the living room, so he had presumed it empty. But now, slowly and stiffly turning around, Kyouya saw that one of the arm chairs occupied his oldest brother, Yuichi. He could just barely see the glint of Yuichi's wide-toothed smile in the dim light.

"Where's the rush, Kyouya? That's not like you. You look so _frantic_."

Kyouya set his mouth in a hard line. "Tachibana-san, that car better be ready or else," he said darkly, and then he softly shut his phone. He faced his brother, all senses alert. "What do you want, Yuichi?"

Yuichi ignored the question, chuckling instead. "So little brother, I heard that you turned down our father's offer. I was just curious as to why. Your behavior's been so _strange_ of late. The old Kyouya was entirely too ambitious to turn down such a chance."

_This is wasting time,_ Kyouya thought edgily, longing to reach the door just across the room, the one just behind Yuichi.

"I'm glad to see you displaying such concern," Kyouya said coolly. "However, it should not matter. After all, _you_ were the one who Father originally wanted to go to South Africa. Are you not pleased?"

Yuichi put on an act of mock consideration. Then he shrugged and said, "No."

Kyouya narrowed his eyes and started walking again. "Well, that is no concern of mine. If you excuse me, I have somewhere I have to—"

Yuichi stood right in front of Kyouya, blocking his path. Once more Kyouya stopped, and as he looked up into the eyes of his older brother, everything seemed to fall into place. Kyouya opened his mouth and spoke in a low voice.

"What have you done with Haruhi?"

* * *

Inhaling once. Inhaling again. Haruhi opened her eyes and lowered her arms from her face. A car had stopped just inches from her body.

The driver blew its horn again, making Haruhi jump. "Get out of the way! Are you crazy?" the middle-aged man yelled, sticking his head out the window.

Haruhi bowed hastily and apologized before racing off again. But the shock was catching up with her, and she had to stop momentarily to catch her breath. Her heartbeat was so wild that it nearly hurt her chest. She leaned against a building, feeling the terrible tremble of her body.

"What am I doing?" Haruhi moaned between gasps.

But she didn't linger long. She caught a glimpse of her watch, and though she had never been a runner or physically active at all, she forced her feet to a sprint once more. She didn't let herself think, because she knew she would only talk herself out of it. Only the number of blocks remaining, which she chanted with desperate determination, was allowed to echo in her mind.

* * *

"I wonder, do you perhaps not know who you are?" Yuichi asked, and his tone of voice suggested that he was still playing with Kyouya.

"What sort of question is that?" Kyouya countered. He was nearly bursting with impatience, but he forced himself to stand still and meet his brother's eyes coolly. At this point, acting any more flustered would only serve to amuse Yuichi further. So he matched the sarcastic attitude and said, "I am Kyouya, the—"

"Third son of the great Otoori family."

Kyouya stayed silent. At the other end of the room, Fuyumi wandered in. She noticed the two and quickly hid herself, listening.

"And as the third son, you are to stay the third son. Never moving above expectations, but never daring to fall below them either. Understand? Your life has already been predetermined, and you will never have any say in any matter."

"Move out of the way." From within the shadows, Fuyumi shivered at the chilliness in Kyouya's voice.

"Now tell me this," Yuichi continued, still ignoring him. "As the third son, why are you seeking happiness that is not rightfully yours?"

"I said move out of the way." Kyouya attempted to shove past his brother, but Yuichi shoved right back.

"Why are you plotting to surpass your brothers, possibly even your father?"

"I have done no such thing. Everything I do supports the family, as has been asked of me."

Yuichi smiled crookedly. He made a big show of going through his pockets until he retrieved his cell phone. He held it in front of Kyouya's face, and Kyouya could see his father's number already dialed, just waiting for someone to press the TALK button.

"Then it's not too late, Kyouya. Call our father and tell him you have changed your mind. He may be slightly displeased at your capriciousness, but that will not matter in the end, as long as you are 'supporting the family,' as you put it. You may not inherit the family business as I will, but you shall help the Otoori name gain a foothold in another continent, acting as a stepping stone for future generations. Financially, the first few years will be difficult. But I am sure that Father had hinted to you about the powerful Whitton family, who control much of South African business, having a daughter close to your age. With your incredibly social skills, you could potentially woo the daughter and use the tie with the Whittons to benefit the new firm. But of course, I am probably insulting you by telling you this. You probably had already figured that all out, knowing your intelligence. It's already part of the plan, isn't it?"

Instead of answering, Kyouya only glared. As his fists clenched by his sides, he could feel his composure trickling away.

Yuichi clicked his teeth and shook his head, but Kyouya could see the bastard still smiling that sick, satisfied smile. "It is as I predicted," he sighed. "No, don't bother denying it. I had known for several years about your insatiable desire for power. I knew that you slowly trying to acquire the means to take over the family. Perhaps due to the company you are keeping. And for several years, I have kept an eye on you, waiting for you to slip up and reveal a weak link that I can exploit. And I have now found it, thanks to the miracle of teenage hormones."

Kyouya snarled and lunged for him, seizing his collar. Panicking, Fuyumi emerged from her hiding spot and called Kyouya's name. The two boys barely paid her any attention, although Kyouya did manage to restrain from hitting Yuichi. Instead, he shook his brother and demanded, "Where is Haruhi? What have you done to her?" Yuichi only smiled at him, and Kyouya narrowed his eyes. "Why are you doing this?"

"Why shouldn't I?" Yuichi responded, yelling for the first time in the conversation. "_Someone_ needs to knock you down before you get too out of control!"

"Kyouya, Yuichi," Fuyumi pleaded, hovering nearby. "Stop this! Kyouya, stop it I say. There's no time—!"

"Haruhi has absolutely nothing to do with this!" Kyouya cried.

"It doesn't matter. I could care less. But you have been getting your way for far too long. And Father even _lets_ you get away with it. He may not say it, but he has been looking on you with great favor. Too much favor. I won't let you destroy what's rightfully mine in the family. Why should you get all the power, prestige, _and_ be allowed to court whomever you wish? Why should you be the only one in our family allowed to be happy? You worthless, ungrateful little—"

Kyouya punched him. Caught off-guard, Yuichi went tumbling back, tripping over the low, coffee table. China went flying and smashed into the ground. While Yuichi was still down, Kyouya pinned him and punched him again. But Yuichi retaliated, knocking Kyouya over. Fuyumi was screaming at them, but it was just a distant voice as the two brothers went at each other.

A watch alarm cut through the noise, sounding almost twice as loud as normal. Yuichi went limp at the sound of it, and Kyouya also froze, stunned. Fuyumi might still have been yelling at Kyouya, tugging at him, but all he heard was the grim, serious toll of the watch. His brother's watch. Yuichi's lip was split. There was no smiling for him now. But all the same, he spat out a little blood and locked eyes with Kyouya, his own burning with black-flamed victory.

"It is done," Yuichi mumbled. "You are too late now."

* * *

_I'm going to be too late_! Haruhi panicked.

But finally, the train station was in sight. Haruhi would have let out a relieved breath, but she had none to spare. Summoning the last of her energy, she rounded the corner and barreled into the station.

It was crowded, even for noontime-standards. Haruhi let herself gasp for air as she gained her bearings. _What am I going to do? I don't even have a ticket! _she thought hopelessly. But then she shook her head. _No, wait—Tachibana said he would take care of it for me. But does that mean someone is going to be here to hand me it? It doesn't seem likely. _

"Haruhi!"

Haruhi whirled around and caught a glimpse of a stranger in a suit. But he was waving his arms and gesturing wildly towards one of the trains. Platform 8. Without another thought, Haruhi sprinted towards it. She nearly ran over a squat lady who was loaded down with several bags. Haruhi didn't even bother apologizing before resuming her run. _I'll just have to trust that he's already paid._ But then her heart jumped up into her throat. There were two men who looked suspiciously like police officers, and they were guarding the entrance of the train at Platform 8. Dismay slowed her down momentarily, but then she heard the train let out a whistle. It was about to leave.

"No!" Haruhi gasped out, reaching. The guards heard her and glanced her way. They were surprised to see the scrawny girl sprinting towards them. At the last minute, they tried to block her way, but she ducked under their arms. She half expected them to drag her right back outside, maybe even arrest her for not showing her ticket. But they were distracted when someone shouted her name again.

"Tachibana?" she said breathlessly.

The door shut. Haruhi hurriedly grabbed a pole as the train lurched forward. She stole one last glance at the two guards. They were unnervingly calm, watching her expressionlessly as she slipped out of view. _How strange . . . or maybe Tachibana really did get to them after all?_

She did not dwell on the thought for long. She collapsed on a bench, all of her exhaustion crashing down on her at once. For a while, all she did was breathe and work at getting her heartbeat back to a more normal pace. But after a few minutes, Haruhi leaned her head back and closed her eyes, the slightest smile on her lips. _I did it. All that's left is to wait, and then I'll see Kyouya again_. Haruhi was trembling again, this time with utter relief and pleasure. _Everything will be fine now_.

And the train rumbled out of the station and into the unknown.

* * *

The alarm finally stopped. Kyouya stared wide-eyed at nothing in particular, not quite believing it.

"Give it up, Kyouya," Yuichi said, coolly prying himself free of Kyouya's grip. "It's over now. The train has just left, and Haruhi is on it. My men made sure of that. She'll ride inside train for—oh, I don't even know how long—until she realizes that there's been some mistake. That's she gone too far, or that the train had made a mistake. But it will be too late. She'll wind up in the middle of nowhere. That's what she gets for trying to be a hero, and that's what you get for being so pathetically illusioned."

Kyouya slowly stood and let Yuichi. Yuichi took a moment to fix his tie. All the while, a sense of helplessness was nagging at Kyouya. Yuichi had only been baiting him to distract him and make him lose time. Now it was too late and—

"No," Kyouya said firmly.

Yuichi cocked an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

Kyouya clenched his teeth and raised his fist, but his anger evaporated when he saw his older brother actually flinch. Kyouya lowered his hands, feeling strangely tired. It wasn't worth it. Too much time had been lost as it was.

"Fuyumi," Kyouya muttered slowly. "Look after this cowardly bastard, and call me if he does tries to pull anything else."

"But where are you going?" Fuyumi asked, her face pale as Kyouya strode purposely towards the door.

"Where else?" Kyouya half-snapped. "I'm going to find Haruhi."

And the door slammed shut behind him.

* * *

**A/N:** Phew! This chapter just did NOT want to be written. That, and I swear I've been burried under school work for the past two weeks or so. So I apologize for the incredibly long wait. I also apologize for the little tease in the beginning. Someone reviewed to me saying how awful it would be if Haruhi got in a car accident . . . so I couldn't resist. That was cruel of me. ^^

This could be either really great news or terrible, depressing news. If everything goes according to plan, there should be only two chapters left. I've come so far. It's been a trip. As always, I thank all of my readers, especially my readers that take the time to review. Love ya lots!

I also finally got around to reading the final chapter in Ouran Host Club. Okay, so maybe I've started to warm up to TamaHaru now. But I'll still always be a KyouHaru and HikaHaru fangirl at heart. That being said, I refuse to acknowledge certain "events" from the final chapter. My poor fangirl heart couldn't take it. (I'm sure you know what I'm talking about if you've read it. The conversation between Kyouya and Honey? Yeah, I don't buy it. NOT ONE BIT! :D )


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N:** This chapter's probably riddled with mistakes and sounds very rushed. I apologize. I was in a hurry to get this done and posted before November 1st, because NaNoWriMo is going to steal most of my time during November. Also, this chapter just did not want to be written for some reason. I drew such a blank. But don't worry, just bear with me. The ending will be worth it! ^^

* * *

At first, Haruhi had been relieved to sit still and breathe for a moment. But not moving was almost as bad as sprinting through the streets and dodging cars.

No, it was even worse.

Hands clasped tightly, Haruhi fidgeted for the billionth time. It felt like she had been on this train for forever, even though in reality it probably had only been a few minutes. She was beginning to feel antsy.

"What am I doing?" she mumbled once more. Without the distraction of running and oxygen deprivation, it was harder to avoid that one thought. Haruhi breathed out in frustration and smoothed out her skirt.

She was more rational than this, wasn't she? Why was she suddenly jumping trains and chasing after a person who obviously had deserted her? And what the heck did she plan to do when, or if, she _did_ catch up to Kyouya? Demand that he stay in Japan? That was selfish.

"But how could he just not tell me anything?" Haruhi wondered. Blushing, she considered that maybe it was because Kyouya had grown bored of her and her morals. But she shook her head. That couldn't be it.

Haruhi leaned her head against the cold window and stared out at the landscape which was starting to grow gray. There seemed to be a chance of snow.

* * *

Kyouya slammed the limo door shut and hurried up the steps to the train station, taking it two stairs at a time. But before he could make it through the door, he was assaulted by a blond bullet.

"KYOUYAAA!" Tamaki cried as he lunched for his friend and embraced him tightly.

"Not now, Tamaki," Kyouya grunted, attempting to pry off the blond's arms.

"Kyouya, Kyouya! What took you so long?"

"Never mind that. Did you manage to grab Haruhi before she left?"

Tamaki's face fell. "When I got here, I couldn't find her anywhere. I even asked around, but one old lady told me she thought she had seen a girl like Haruhi running toward a train about to leave and making a big ruckus. The lady was very grumpy and said something like Haruhi had almost knocked her over along the way."

Kyouya adjusted his glasses, keeping his cool as best as possible. He had figured as much. His brother _would_ know how to manipulate the strings in order to get the train moving the minute Haruhi arrived. He would also know how to leave not a single trace.

"But that bastard underestimates me," Kyouya growled, his dark, murderous aura making Tamaki flinch.

"U-uh? Kyouya . . . um?"

Kyouya stalked off, dragging a nervously babbling Tamaki with him. They went inside the station and all the way to the ticket booth. The person behind the desk was occupied, meticulously checking schedules with a puzzled frown, so he didn't notice Kyouya and Tamaki come up.

Kyouya slammed his hand down on the desk. "Who is the person in charge?" he demanded.

The worker sighed and said, "Look, sir, if you have a complaint, you don't have to be so—" But then the worker looked up and saw the demonic monster that was Kyouya and instantly zoomed as far away from the desk as possible.

"A-a-ah . . . take that door to the left there," the worker said, gesturing with a shaking finger.

"Kyouya . . . your eyes are sort of glowing," Tamaki whimpered as he was dragged along yet again, but Kyouya ignored him.

Kyouya slammed the door open. Three men looked over at him, one casually smoking a cigarette.

"Is there anyone in here who made a deal with a person known as Yuuchi Ootori?" Kyouya asked, his voice ringing loud and clear in the small room.

"Whaaaa? What are you talking about?" the smoker said rudely.

Kyouya stared at them for a while impassively, a glare on his glasses. Then he cracked into the smallest, most dangerous crooked smile.

Tamaki gulped.

* * *

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Haruhi sighed wistfully. Her fidgeting had calmed a bit, but her knees still bounced energetically. She tore her eyes away from the increasingly white landscape and gazed around the cabin. "It wouldn't seem so long if I had someone to talk to." But the cabin was strangely empty. In all the years Haruhi had taken the train, no matter the day or time, there had always been a least a small handful of people on board. The vacancy unnerved her a little. But she scolded herself, thinking that if she got _that_ lonesome, she could always wander around the cabins until she found someone—

There was a screech. The train lurched, and Haruhi collided face first with the bench in front of her. She clutched at her nose in pain, but then she realized that the train had come to a dead stop.

"Ah . . . ."

Was it the snow? Were the tracks too frozen or something? Still sitting on the floor, massaging the bridge of her nose, Haruhi waited for some sort of announcement. An intercom call from the conductor, explaining the nature of the delay. But there was nothing. _I don't have time for this, _Haruhi thought impatiently. _If we're delayed for too long, I'll miss Kyouya's flight! And then . . ._

When there had still been no announcement, Haruhi pulled herself up off the ground and started walking to the front end of the train. Cabin after cabin, utterly empty. Her footsteps echoing in the silence. Something surreal seized her throat and made it hard to see clearly, but she walked on until she spotted, with relief, the door to the conductor's area. _I never did get a ticket,_ Haruhi recalled with sudden clarity. _Could they kick me out? _However, Haruhi could barely muster any concern for that trivial fact. Too spooked to care about the "Do No Enter" sign, the girl hurriedly barged in.

"Um, hello," Haruhi said timidly, flushing at how much of a rule breaker she had become within a few hours. "I know I shouldn't be here, but could you tell me what's wrong? I have somewhere important to be and . . . and . . ."

There was no one. Over by where the controls lied, pathetically masterless, Haruhi saw a screen. In a bold, romaji script, it read "Auto pilot disabled" along with a countdown. The countdown hit zero, and then all the power went out.

* * *

"Thank you for getting the family chopper ready, Tachibana-san," Kyouya said, though he never removed his eyes from the window.

"Of course, young master," Tachibana grunted.

Kyouya squinted at the landscape a little harder, just barely perceiving the thin strip of railroad running below them. Any minute now, and Haruhi's train would finally appear. The workers at the station had told them that that particular train was remote controlled and required no driver. Kyouya's brother had managed to coerce the station into reprogramming the train's usual route into a much longer, winding route up in the northern regions of Japan. Furthermore, it had been programmed with a power shut down, resulting in Haruhi being stranded heaven knows where. But the workers swore to not knowing exactly when or where the train would stop. Only Yuichi knew, and he was purposefully ignoring Kyouya's calls and death threats.

"Bastard," Kyouya muttered.

He felt a hand squeeze his shoulder. "Kyouya," Tamaki whined. "Did you have to be so harsh to the workers back there? It's not—"

But Tamaki was cut off by a very creepy, dark chuckling that made the blond instantly zoom back in his seat behind Kyouya, cowering.

"That's what happens when you cross the devil," Kyouya stated, sounding entirely too amused. He adjusted his glasses and folded his arms. "Too bad none of them have a passport. Well, not that that would have saved them from the inevitable for long."

"My best friend is evil incarnate," Tamaki muttered.

Hearing that, Kyouya sobered slightly. Tamaki was right in a way. Kyouya _was_ overdoing it. But he couldn't help it. He was trying to distract himself from the bitterness threatening to swallow him whole. Because beating himself up with guilt wasn't going to help find Haruhi. He would channel his anger into energy and keep pushing on.

"Excuse me, young master," Tachibana said a little hesitantly.

"Yes?"

"We're getting an emergency radio call from one of the train stations up ahead. They had been notified of our search, and they are warning us about a bad snow storm coming our way. They recommend that we stop right away and seek shelter there."

Kyouya was silent for a long time.

As if sensing the Ootori's mood, Tachibana reminded, "The helicopter could not last long in a snow storm, young master."

"I know that," Kyouya snapped. Then he sighed and rubbed his temples. "Well, what are you waiting for? We have no choice anyway."

Tachibana steered a little off course and headed towards the train station. When they got there, the workers practically fell over themselves to usher the trio inside and get them warm and comfortable. _The other station probably warned them about us,_ Kyouya thought with a humorless smirk as he drank the hot chocolate one lady had given him. But the first gulp tasted bitter to him. He set it down on the table, thinking about how Haruhi would not have any nice hot chocolate. Kyouya wondered which was worse. If the train was still zooming along, far away from them, or if the train had powered out in the middle of the snow storm.

Restless, Kyouya pushed himself out of his chair and wandered over to the window, where the world outside was getting darker and grayer.

"I'm surprised at you Kyouya."

"Oh shut up," Kyouya muttered.

Tamaki walked up and stood by Kyouya's side, smiling gravely as he stared out the window as well. It was quiet between them for a while as Tamaki drank his own hot chocolate, but then then the blond opened his mouth.

"You know . . . I'm much more impulsive and open than you are," Tamaki said slowly. "But even so . . . I'm surprised that you can stay so calm and still."

"You think I'm calm?" Kyouya muttered under his breath.

"I think that, even if I were you, I wouldn't just stand here doing nothing. Snowstorm or no snowstorm. I would go out and chase after her."

Kyouya looked at his friend, his eyes widening.

Tamaki drained the last of his hot chocolate and wiped his mouth. "That's all I wanted to say." He turned on his heel and walked away from Kyouya. But after a few steps, he paused. "Ah! By the way, did you know that this train station has the niftiest little snowmobile that it uses occasionally for emergencies? It's extremely fast, apparently," Tamaki gushed in excitement, but when he looked back at Kyouya, his face was composed and suggestive. "Maybe even fast enough to beat a snowstorm before it hits . . ."

And, humming, Tamaki left to get another mugful of hot chocolate. Kyouya stared after him, his face blank. But then Kyouya's lips slipped into the slightest grin.

"That idiot's not subtle at all," he mumbled, shaking his head. Then Kyouya stopped and sighed. "Still, once again, that _idiot_ has outsmarted me."

* * *

Haruhi ran to the next cabin, and for the fifth time, stopped to check her cellphone. Zero bars. To be one hundred percent center, Haruhi shuffled over to all the corners of the cabin. Then she moved to the next one and repeated the process. Efforts were futile. Haruhi had no form of communication. Even some of the train's emergency phone lines had been mysteriously disabled.

Exhausted, and not knowing why, Haruhi trudged back to her original seat. A chill started to creep up on her. The heat was out as well, it seemed. With a glance out at the flurry-filled outside, Haruhi reached for the second jacket she had had the fortune to pack in her bag before she and Tamaki left for the grocery store.

Grocery store? Huh, that already seemed like so long ago. Haruhi chuckled hopelessly to herself and leaned her head against the window, changing her mind when the icy cold stung at her skin. She lied down on the bench instead. "And just what have I accomplished since then?" she muttered to herself.

More than likely, she would be found. Trains didn't just go missing after all. Surely help would be on the way. It _is _on the way, but it would be too late in arriving. After all Haruhi had been through, Kyouya would still leave, and she wouldn't be able to even say anything about it. Not even a text message that read a pathetic goodbye.

She refused to look at her watch. She had to keep her head after all. When two layers of jackets wouldn't cut it, Haruhi got up to walk around, warm up, and look for some sort of blanket or rag left behind. Mercifully, she found one. She jumped around a while to get her blood flowing, and then curled up under the blanket. And so began the waiting.


	17. Chapter 17

Haruhi hugged her knees even tighter to her body. Her teeth rattled uncontrollably, even with the extra blanket wrapped around her. _I wonder . . . if I'm just going to stay like this. If no one will be able to find me._

The thought made her force her frozen fingers into action again. She pulled out her cell phone and flipped it open again. But it was the same as it had been the first hundred times she had checked. No service.

_Maybe I should walk around again and search for a signal._ But Haruhi was doubtful that anything had changed. Not to mention she didn't want to move around in the cold air and sacrifice whatever body heat she had managed to build up huddled in a ball like this. Thankfully the snow storm was finally dying down. She had half worried that she would be buried alive.

A loud noise, almost like a thrumming engine, made Haruhi jerk her head up. Barely breathing, the girl waited in the silence that followed. Five minutes passed. Haruhi hung her head again.

There was another slamming noise. The thick quiet of the train sharpened and magnified every noise, and Haruhi found that she could hear footsteps. She pushed herself to her knees and clung to the back of the train seat in desperate hope.

_Help? Oh please tell me that it's help!_ Haruhi thought. She cleared her throat and squeaked out, "I'm here."

The footsteps paused, and then they staggered twice as fast towards her direction. The door to her cabin scraped open. Haruhi squinted in the dimness, and her eyes flew wide open when she finally identified the shape of the silhouette.

"Kyouya!" she gasped, throwing the blanket off of her and jumping to her feet.

Kyouya leaned against the side of the doorway, breathing heavy and shaking visibly. "Honestly, Haruhi," he growled, sounding almost angry. "What kind of honor student is so bad at geography that they can't tell when a place doesn't exist? Kyotouwazawa?" Kyouya let out a curse and stumbled forward, nearly falling. Haruhi quickly rushed over to him and held him up.

"Kyouya, what are you _doing _here?" Haruhi asked sharply, her eyes wild with worry. "More importantly, how did you get here? The snowstorm—!"

But instead of answering, Kyouya sank wearily into the nearest seat. Haruhi shut the door and sat down next to him. Haruhi's fingers and toes may have been painfully numb for a long time now, but Kyouya looked as though he had just crawled out of freezing arctic water. She hovered uncertainly for a moment, not knowing what to do first. Then she quickly retrieved the spare blanket.

"Kyouya, your clothes are wet from the snow," Haruhi said, bringing the blanket over. "You should probably—"

Haruhi jumped when Kyouya actually let out a bark of laughter. "Haruhi," he said with chattering teeth, "of all the times and places, you choose _now_ to get me naked."

Haruhi flushed in both anger and embarrassment. She threw the blanket at his face.

Kyouya caught it and quickly removed his coat. After a brief hesitation, he took off his shirt too and wrapped up in the blanket, greedy for warmth and dryness. He flashed her a pointed look. "I'd rather not remove my pants as well, thank you. You'll have to deal."

"It's not th—" But before she could finish her retort, Kyouya suddenly grabbed her and held her tightly against him. Haruhi felt her spine involuntarily arch back, and she shivered when she touched his icy cold skin, his heart positively racing under her fingertips But he had already trapped her inside the blanket, and there was no escape.

Not that she minded _that_ much, of course.

"You're not very warm," he grumbled as his teeth chattered in her ear.

"I've only been sitting in this freezing train for roughly two hours. Excuse me!" And Haruhi was going to continue, but she sucked in her breath as Kyouya squeezed her tighter. Though this time, Haruhi got the feeling it wasn't due to cold.

"A helicopter shouldn't be too far behind. We just have to hold out until then."

"But wait. If you're not with the helicopter people, how did you get here?"

Kyouya threw her a look. "Can you not tell?"

"Kyouya! Don't tell me you actually _walked_ over here?" Haruhi blinked, and reached for his face. "And is that a black eye? What have you—!"

Kyouya snorted. "Are you going to lecture me?"

Haruhi narrowed her eyes and sarcastically mimicked him. "What kind of an honor student would be stupid enough to go out in a blizzard?"

"Obviously the same kind of honor student that would fall in love with a person like you," he deadpanned.

Haruhi gaped at him wordlessly for a few moments. "Are . . . are you trying to be _romantic_?" she replied, her voice almost shrill with disbelief. "This is _hardly_ the place."

"Who knows?"

They fell silent, just holding each other. Haruhi felt his breathing slow down. Their body heat slowly warmed each other up, and though it still wasn't much, Haruhi certainly felt warmer than she had alone.

After a while, Kyouya started to shift around. Haruhi glanced at him curiously. He pulled out a thermos. "I brought some hot chocolate," he said. "It didn't fair too well in the storm, but at least it's still a little warm."

He poured some of the hot chocolate in its cap and offered it to Haruhi. Surprisingly, Haruhi's stomach actually turned a little nauseously at the thought of drink. "I'm fine."

"Drink it," he ordered. "You need some warm fluids in you."

Obediently, Haruhi took it from him. She cautiously took a sip, but it didn't make her feel sick, so she gulped down a little more. Kyouya watched her carefully until he also took a swig of hot chocolate.

"More?" Haruhi asked in a small voice when her share was finished.

Kyouya let out a relieved breath and poured her a little more. "I had feared the worse, to be honest," he mumbled. "You definitely have mild hypothermia, but you don't seem too delirious or dazed yet, so I'm sure it's not too serious."

Haruhi nodded. "I didn't remember exactly how to prevent hypothermia, but I made sure to stay inside the train and keep bundled up."

He sighed again and put a hand on her head, pulling her even closer. "That's my Haruhi."

Haruhi waited for a while with her eyes closed tightly, expecting him to tell her how he had got there, and _why_ he was there. Why he wasn't flying away somewhere above her head. But he didn't, and sitting here with him again filled her with such contentment that she didn't want to ruin the moment by confirming her fears. She didn't want to spoil the dream, which felt so pleasant and warm.

"You know," Kyouya began after a while, "when I said I wanted to go somewhere with just the two of us, with no interruptions, this wasn't exactly want I had in mind."

Haruhi smiled ruefully. "Me neither."

Kyouya reached into his pocket again, and Haruhi greedily hoped that it was another thermos. Disappointment crashed down on her when he pulled out an iPod. With one arm still wrapped around Haruhi, Kyouya inspected the iPod to make sure it had not been damaged. Once satisfied, he gently tapped Haruhi to get her attention. He offered her one of the ear phones. "It'll make time go by faster," he explained.

Haruhi shrugged—she would have preferred more hot chocolate—and put it in her ear, closing her eyes once more. Watching her face very carefully, Kyouya played the first song on the playlist.

At first, her face was blank as the first notes spilled out from the ear buds. But after a while, she began to frown, puzzled. The lyrics followed, and she was slowly opening her eyes wider and wider. But there was no way. No way at all.

"I named it Tsumetai Yoru," Kyouya murmured in a low voice.

Haruhi turned her head an inch to the right, and then to the left. A small, disbelieving shake of the head.

"Well, it was supposed to be a Christmas present," Kyouya continued quietly. A faint grin spread across his pale blue lips. "The plan was to kidnap you and take you to some expensive, tropical place. Just to get on your nerves." His voice was low and wistful, painting a picture of what could have been. "We'd stay in the fanciest hotels and only eat at the five star restaurants. And then when you had just about had it, I would pull out this song and tell you this was the real present." He chuckled once at the thought. "To be honest, I had hoped that it would move you to tears, but that was just a fanciful little wish. You're not that kind of person, I suppose—"

"You're an idiot," Haruhi choked out, ducking her head. "An idiotic, rich bastard."

The way her voice shook wasn't lost on Kyouya. He peered down at her. "Oh? Are you still cold? Or am I actually going to get a few tears?"

"Shut up." She sniffed and drew in a shuddering breath. After a while, she trusted herself to whisper, "It's beautiful. The most beautiful song I've ever heard."

"I stayed up late every night, making sure it was perfect. And I tried to—"

"Why are you _here_?" Haruhi interrupted sharply, desperately. The dream had to end. It was going too far. "Why are you _doing_ this? You're just going to leave anyway, aren't you? What's the point?"

The glare on his glasses seemed especially bright. Haruhi couldn't read his expression at all. "Would you try to stop me?" he asked slowly.

"It's not that!" Haruhi insisted.

"Even if it was my goal, you wouldn't let me leave? If you got the scholarship to America, I would let you—"

"But I can't follow you!" Haruhi exclaimed. She blushed at her outburst and, with a swallow, looked away sheepishly. "Kyouya, you . . . you're so very rich," she admitted, and said it as if it were a bad thing. Being stuck in a train for so long had forced her to think about things and realize things. And now she couldn't help but spill them all out. "If I were to go to America, you could probably fly over there without even blinking at the cost. And you'd probably come visit and bug me all the time. But I'm not rich. Not at all. I wouldn't be able to drop everything and fly over to South Africa or whatever whenever I was lonely. In just that one regard . . . in just that one situation, I actually hate the fact that I'm poor."

"You know I could have paid for the plane tickets."

"And _you_ know that I wouldn't be happy with that. I don't want to be dependent on you. But I also don't like the feeling of not being able to do anything . . ." Haruhi trailed off, blushing deeper.

Kyouya let the silence hang for a moment before stating, "That's surprisingly clingy of you."

"It's not clingy!"

"Well, not that I can talk." With one hand on her chin, Kyouya brought her face back to his. He admired the pink color of Haruhi's cheeks before leaning in to kiss her. For just a few moments, the blood rushed in Haruhi's veins, and she truly felt warm. But just as the high was beginning to fade, Kyouya broke the kiss and held her close again. Haruhi felt his big hands on her neck and the small of her back, pinning her against him.

"For the record," he mumbled in her ear, and Haruhi swore that she could _hear_ him smirking, "I'm not leaving."

Haruhi sucked in her breath.

"I told you, didn't I? You had been tricked. By my older brother. Though I can't believe you actually fell for it. There is no such thing as Kyotouwazawa, and the idea of me leaving for South Africa . . . that is a lie as well. Well, I must admit, I had entertained the idea for a while. It was a big chance for me as the third son. But quite frankly, I didn't want to leave you. You're the one who told me to be honest with myself. This is what I have chosen. This is what I want"

Haruhi let out a long breath, mildly surprised at herself. She hadn't realized she had been holding it. Haruhi snuggled a little closer, burying her face in his neck.

The song faded out, but it came back on again. It was on repeat. Haruhi wanted to hear it over and over again until each and every second of the melody had been engraved in her memory. Honestly, it was a little strange and amusing to think of Kyouya playing this late into the night, singing softly so as to not draw any attention. But at the same time, it seemed to fit so perfectly.

"Are you still listening to me?" Kyouya asked, grumbling a little. "I just braved an ice storm from hell in order to rescue you, and now I'm telling you I love you and you won't even respond. What a rude commoner."

"I heard you, you rich bastard," Haruhi teased playfully. "I heard you. Crystal clear."

* * *

**A/N:** It's been a year. A year ago, the day after my birthday, I wrote a oneshot because I happened to have the day off from school. Some people loved it so much that they begged me to continue. Admittedly, I was a little reluctant because I hadn't really thought ahead for a plot and I don't like writing without a plan. But in the end, I decided to take the challenge. Now, thanks to the warm and loving support of my reviewers, I've made it through a year's worth of ups and downs and writers block, and I have finished my first ever, multi-chaptered fic. What a journey it's been! And I have you all to thank. I only hope that I was able to live up to your expectations.

But readers, this is where I must close. I honestly don't know what I'll do now that Crystal Clear is over, but I think I'm going to take a break from long fics for a while. At least, I will when I finish my other long fic, Usagi Tales. But don't forget about me completely. Because I promise, there will be more KyoHaru (and hopefully even HikaHaru finally) in the future.

So I thank you. I love you. And I bid you farewell . . .

. . . for now anyway. :D


	18. Epilogue

**A/N:** TADAAAAAA! Did you see that one coming? To be honest, I had this idea since before I finished the fanfic, and the completed chapter had been sitting on my desktop for months now. But I wanted to wait to post this until I thought you all would least expect it, when everyone had begun to forget about Crystal Clear. Ahhhh, but it was hard keeping it a secret for so long. Every now and then a reviewer would ask me to write just one more update, and it was all I could do not to send them a message saying that I've already done it. And to make up for the wait, I made it LONG too. Longer than I usually write. ^^

This is just a present to thank you guys again. I feel like I can never stop thanking everyone. To this day, the number of reviews still climbs. 350? Really? I'm so honored and loved! I really hope you enjoy it, the last (seriously this time) chapter of Crystal Clear.

* * *

**EPILOGUE**

Kyouya decided that always waking up so inexplicably early in the mornings was going to be the death of him one day.

If back pain didn't take him first.

With a reluctant groan, Kyouya opened his eyes and sat up, wincing as his spine cracked. It was 8:23 in the morning. His glasses were askew. He was still wearing his clothes from yesterday. And his butt was falling asleep from having sat on the hard linoleum floor all night.

He was the picture of hell, he was sure.

But then he heard the sleepy moan of someone next to him, the person who had robbed him of sleeping in a proper bed, and the sound of it brought a little relief to his aching back. A grin slipped onto his lips. Oh . . . that's right. Kyouya hadn't gotten the action he had been hoping for, and he had slept on the floor while Haruhi took the couch after watching a bazillion movies—

—but it had been worth it.

It just might take a while to convince the rest of his body that.

Sighing, Kyouya slowly pushed himself to his feet. Each movement brought a creak or screech from his joints. _No wonder commoners age so quickly_, he mused without much interest. All that mattered was the small girl curled up like a cat on his couch. Kyouya sat down on the edge, but when stroking her hair failed to bring any more excitement, he stretched out next to her to get a better look at her sleeping face.

"If I'm not allowed to sleep in, neither are you," Kyouya murmured, kissing her softly.

"Hnnn," Haruhi groaned again, leaning into the kiss sleepily. "Five more minutes?"

"It's already ten in the morning."

"WHAT!" Haruhi exclaimed, bolting upright.

Kyouya chuckled at her and gently pulled her back down on the sofa. "Relax. It's only 8:30. We still have time. What was it you said?" Kyouya smiled crookedly and held the girl in his arms. "Five more minutes?"

Haruhi looked close to objecting, but after a kiss or two, she said, "Maybe ten would be better."

"That's what I thought."

But it turns out they didn't get ten minutes. They didn't even get five. A couple minutes later, Kyouya's cellphone was ringing, and he could have sworn it was the ugliest, most obnoxious noise in the world. When Haruhi saw Kyouya stiffen and his expression turn dark, Haruhi nervously reached into his coat pocket and said, "Maybe I should answer it." She pushed Kyouya away so that she could breathe, and Kyouya grudgingly sat on the other side of the sofa, plotting new ways to torture his so-called friend.

"That idiot's terrible sense of timing never ceases to amaze me," he grumbled, and Haruhi rolled her eyes at him. Kyouya didn't sulk. He was much too refined for that . . .

. . . but his expression came pretty close to sulking.

"Hello? Sempai?"

"Eh? HARUHIIIIII!" Tamaki shouted at such a volume that even Kyouya could hear. Haruhi leaned away from the phone with a wince. "WHERE ARE YOU! WHERE ARE YOU, MY PRECIOUS DAUGHTER? I THOUGHT YOU SAID THE TIME WAS AT—!"

"Calm down, sempai," Haruhi sighed. "Everything's fine. My things are already ready, I just have to get a shower and—"

"But why aren't you at your house?"

There was a pause as Haruhi blinked once, twice, and then shot a look of panic at Kyouya. "T-t-tamaki-sempai . . . are you at my house right now?"

"The whole host club is! Well, except for Kyouya. No one was brave enough to wake him up this early in the morning."

"Well you still did, idiot, and you're going to pay for it dearly," Kyouya muttered, and Haruhi shushed him.

"But where are you right now, Haruhi?" Tamaki persisted.

"U-uhhh, um . . . a . . . a friend's house!" Haruhi squeaked. "Yep, yes! That's right."

"A really, really _close_ friend," Kyouya added dryly. This time Haruhi whacked Kyouya over the head and instantly regretted it when he turned on her with murder in his eyes. Haruhi jumped to her feet and ran away from Kyouya, and he chased her around the room while she still tried to talk as normally as possible on the phone. "Yes, Sempai . . . yeah, yeah . . . don't worry, I'll be there soon . . . huh? Why do I sound so breathless . . . well, um . . . ?"

Kyouya cornered Haruhi and lunged for her. Haruhi squealed and, just in time, grabbed a spare pillow and flung it at Kyouya's face. While he was distracted, she ducked under his arms to escape. "It's . . . it's a pillow fight! Yeah . . . commoner thing, soooo . . . gotta go, Sempa—ACK!"

The phone dropped to the floor with a clack as Kyouya grabbed Haruhi from behind. The batteries fell out, but Kyouya hardly cared about anything more than the person squirming and struggling in his arms. And meanwhile, miles away, a certain blond idiot was looking at the phone in confusion, mumbling to himself, "Pillow fights must be vicious. My poor Haruhi."

"Haruhi?" the twins chorused. "But I thought you said you were calling Kyouya's cell."

Tamaki went blank as the words slowly sunk in, and then he fainted in a dramatic swoon.

"Kyouya! Let me go!" Haruhi protested, trying to free herself.

"Oh no you don't," Kyouya grunted, but then Haruhi pushed and jumped, knocking them both off balance. They hit the floor and were still for a moment, panting. The instant when Haruhi tried to get off of him, Kyouya held her more tightly against his chest, closing his eyes.

"Kyouya—"

"This is how we should have slept last night," he murmured, rolling over so that they were both lying on their side, both staring intently at the other. "Warm and close, never letting go—"

"Kyouya," Haruhi began again firmly. When he tried to kiss her, she put both hands on either side of his face and held him back. "We both promised each other we weren't going to act like this. Not last night. Not today."

"I know." But Kyouya kissed her anyway. It was short and fleeting. They watched each other a little longer before Kyouya finally let Haruhi go. "There's a bathroom in the hall on the left. You can use that to shower. You brought a change of clothes, right?"

Haruhi smiled sadly at his attempt to act "strictly business." As if this were any other day. "Yeah. Of course."

Kyouya exhaled and pushed himself off the floor. "Well, we better hurry then." He offered his hand to help Haruhi up, which she graciously took. "We wouldn't want Tamaki to spontaneously combust out of anxiety . . . no, wait," Kyouya amended with a mock thoughtful expression.

Haruhi laughed at him and hugged him one last time before heading to the shower. Kyouya did the same. They were ready within twenty-five minutes, and Kyouya led her to the garage, their hands interlaced comfortably.

But before they made it there, they ran into Yuichi, who looked as if he were just about to leave for work. They paused awkwardly for a moment, and as Yuichi's eyes stared Haruhi down, she could swear that Kyouya's hands tightened marginally around hers.

But it turns out it was not needed. Though his face remained stony and stoic, Yuichi kept his voice civil at the very least. "Good morning, Haruhi."

"A-ah, good morning," Haruhi said, quickly falling into a bow. Kyouya said nothing.

Yuichi seemed to make an attempt to smile. "It's rather early for a visit, isn't it? I'm surprised you even managed to get Kyouya looking functional at this hour."

"Actually, she's leaving," Kyouya stated tersely, and Yuichi seemed slightly taken aback. Both boys chose not to further comment on the matter.

Yuichi turned to Haruhi again. "Fuyumi told me . . . is it tomorrow?"

"Today, actually," Haruhi answered, mildly surprised that he knew. She was even more surprised when he dipped his head to her.

"Then I wish you the best of luck. Work hard."

"Oh . . . thank you."

Yuichi put on a hat and moved to leave, but then he paused again. "Kyouya, be sure to remind Father that I will be home late tonight. I have an appointment with Saki again."

Kyouya nodded wordlessly, and Yuichi left.

"Take care," Haruhi called, but he didn't bother to reply. She frowned a little, but she had received enough politeness as it were.

"He needn't call it an appointment. It's all too obvious regardless," Kyouya muttered, earning him a curious glance from Haruhi. Seeing this, he explained, "Saki is the daughter of doctor with a small practice. They live well enough but . . ."

Haruhi narrowed her eyes and guessed Kyouya's thoughts when he trailed off, slightly uncomfortable. "Still not up to your standards, though, right?"

"No."

And after a quick glance at Haruhi, Kyouya squeezed her hand and kissed her lightly on her left temple. "But I think you may have inspired him," he murmured.

"Or _you_ did, Kyouya."

They held each other's gazes for a moment longer, neither quite revealing what they really thought, before Kyouya led Haruhi on through the hallways. "Regardless," Kyouya sighed. "He is the first son. There are still many obstacles he will have to overcome."

"And you are the third son," Haruhi said, and she said it like she was relieved. Kyouya found that he rather liked the tone of her voice, but chose not to comment on it.

"Not to mention he will be leaving for South Africa soon."

Haruhi leaned a little against Kyouya's arm, holding his hand in both of hers. "Long distance isn't that big of a deal, though."

"Hmm," was all Kyouya said in reply.

They made it to Haruhi's apartment and were immediately assaulted by the Host Club. Well, Kyouya was anyway. Haruhi stood back, torn between shock and resignation, while Tamaki and the twins ganged up on her boyfriend, holding him down and even preparing a plastic, toy bat to attack him with.

"KYOUYA!" Tamaki roared, preparing to swing. "What have you done to my precious daughter? Why did she spend the night at your house?"

"Tamaki-sempai," Haruhi groaned. She figured that she might as well exert even a little effort to stop him, but then Honey came to stand in front of her protectively, pulling out nun chucks (which were a thousand times more authentic and threatening than Tamaki's bat) from nowhere.

"Haru-chan, Haru-chan! Don't worry! We'll save you!" Honey-sempai cried.

"Guys—" Haruhi began again, but she was interrupted by the sudden manifestation of murderous intent coming from a certain boy in flashing glasses.

"I suggest that if you don't want to be hunted down by the Ootori secret forces for the rest of your lives, you let go of me at once," Kyouya stated in chilling ease. Immediately, the twins flinched and released him, stepping back several steps. Tamaki, seeing that everyone had run away, yelped and dropped the bat.

"B-b-but!" Tamaki pouted. "You two spent the night together, right? Since it's you, you certainly were doing . . . _naughty_ stuff, right?"

Kyouya knocked his fist against Tamaki's head, though Haruhi could tell he didn't hit nearly as hard as he could have. "A prince character should not have such a dirty mind. Whatever you're thinking, I can assure you nothing happened."

And Mori, the most normal out of them all, held the door open as they all walked inside. What followed next was a good hour of aggravation and yelling and forced dress-up as Haruhi tried to gather her stuff. But it was also an hour of laughing and side-jabbing and hugging. Then Ranka directed Haruhi's attention to the clock, and Haruhi excused herself, Kyouya right by her side.

"Awww, are you sure you don't want us to come too?" Hikaru complained.

"You guys have made enough noise and mess as it is," Haruhi huffed. "You better help my dad clean up this place later. And don't even think about bringing maids in, you rich bastards."

"Wahhhh, Haruhi! I change my mind! Try on this dress instead. This dress will suit you better!" Kaoru said, poking his head out of her closet.

Haruhi glared at him. "No thanks. You should know that it's way too frilly and lacy."

"Ehhhhh, so boring!" the twins complained.

Tamaki jumped to his feet dramatically. "Well! Seeing as I am your father, I think that I should be allowed the privilege of—"

"Hold it right there, you useless king," Ranka said, kicking Tamaki away. "She's not even going to let her _real_ father accompany her. Why would she let some fake go instead?"

Tamaki looked about ready to zoom off in a corner and cry his eyes out, but he was saved when he saw Haruhi's cute, sheepish smile. "About that . . . sorry. But I really want to do this on my own. I think it will be easier that way," she explained, wincing slightly.

"SO CUTE!" Tamaki, the twins, and Honey cried, and they glomped her long and hard before Kyouya, who was losing his patience and still suffering from low blood pressure, pried them off.

"Enough of the nonsense. You're going to make her late," he snapped, and without waiting for Haruhi, he briskly walked outside. Haruhi quickly hugged her friends and father again before rushing out to catch up with Kyouya again. Only when she was back at her side did his tense features seem to relax.

They were silent for a while as they walked. Haruhi took a deep breath and halfway closed her eyes, gathering courage to let the bomb explode.

"To be honest . . . Kyouya," she said carefully. "When I said that I didn't want anyone to come with me . . . I was including you in that too."

"I'm coming," Kyouya declared, his voice stiff.

"Kyouya, I really don't think it's a good idea—"

"Just try to stop me, commoner."

Haruhi let the harmless insult slide right over her head, and they passed into silence again. Though it was still early, the summer heat was growing stifling. Cicadas buzzed. The wheels of the suitcase bumped leisurely against the uneven sidewalk.

"You can follow me up until the bus stop."

". . . . . fine."

Ten more minutes passed like this, and then there were there. Since the bus wasn't there, and no one else was for that matter, Haruhi collapsed onto a bench and began fanning herself. Kyouya remained standing, a frown weighing down on his mouth. When Haruhi couldn't stand him looking down at her anymore, she patted the spot next to her, and he reluctantly sat down.

"It's only Boston," Haruhi said, looking at him in concern. "And it's only going to be for a year."

Kyouya only grunted.

Haruhi's face fell. Awkwardly, she looked away. "What's with you? If it really bothers you this much, you should have told me. I could have refused the scholarship."

"No, you should go," he muttered, and then adjusted his glasses. "My father is quite impressed with you at the moment—"

"Because the reason I did this is _all_ because of your father," Haruhi said with a roll of her eyes.

"You should know better than that. The only reason we've been able to go out like this for so long is because of you being in Father's good graces. And that approval is definitely something we want to keep. A chance like this will give you an edge in your field and make you a stronger lawyer. It makes you most . . ." Kyouya trailed off for so long that Haruhi actually raised her eyebrows at him. When he finally finished his sentence, Haruhi almost didn't catch his muttered word, "desirable."

Haruhi frowned at him. "But none of that ridiculous scheming changes the fact that you're obviously pouting now."

"I'm not _pouting_, Haruhi. I don't _pout_."

"You're pouting," Haruhi declared one last time, just to get on his nerves, before leaning her head against his arm. Quietly, she added, "But it's okay. I'm going to miss you too."

Kyouya sighed and draped his arm across her shoulders, pulling her a little closer. Haruhi all too willingly obliged, smiling, and they fell into an easy silence broken only by an occasional murmur or gentle whisper.

But that didn't diminish the presence of the large suitcase, which occupied the space between Haruhi and Kyouya's legs.

"I got you something," Kyouya said after a moment.

"Hnnn?"

His expression was perfectly unreadable.

"Is it another song?"

Kyouya actually cracked a wry grin at that. "Don't be so unreasonable, Haruhi. That was a bit of a one-time thing. It wouldn't be special if I did it all the time, right?"

"Says who? I don't mind hearing you play and sing again."

Kyouya made no comment. Haruhi sensed that she had struck a weak point of his. A source of embarrassment. Haruhi didn't think it was embarrassing at all. She could still remember being trapped in the freezing train several months ago, how relieved and confused she had been when Kyouya walked in, how they spent a couple hours huddled up together until help finally came, but Haruhi hadn't minded all that much because she was listening to Kyouya's song, and he would occasionally sing along with it, quietly. It was such a blur and unreal situation that several times Haruhi looked back and wondered if it was just a delusion caused by hypothermia. Then she would stumble across "Tsumetai Yoru" on her ipod, and the warm rush of emotions from that time would wash over her once more. How could something so wonderful be embarrassing?

Then again, that one time when Hikaru stole Haruhi's ipod, the twins wouldn't let Kyouya live it down for a whole week, despite threats to their family's wellbeing. Maybe it was only natural for Kyouya to try to block it from his memory.

Grinning widely even though she was a little disappointed, she asked, "So, if you're not going to serenade me, what is it?"

"Since I won't be there . . . to protect you against strange men and perverts and any other person in Boston who might otherwise flirt with my girlfriend . . . I figured I might as well get you something to ward off . . . _undesirable _company."

Kyouya actually jumped slightly when Haruhi groaned out load and smacked her forehead. "Kyouy_aaaaaa_! Please tell me you did _not_ give me my own bodyguard. Or swat team. Or anything of that nature! Haven't we been through this before?"

"I got the next best thing, I assure you," he replied coolly, reaching for something in his pocket.

"Pepper spray?" Haruhi asked, truly curious but at a loss of what it could be. She leaned over to get a better glimpse. "It's pepper spray, isn't it? Kyouya, I already got some. From both Tamaki AND my dad. I'm not _that_ helpless."

"Wrong," Kyouya said. He dropped the object in Haruhi's waiting hands and turned his body away before he even caught a glimpse of her expression. The sound of her gasp was enough. Kyouya quickly cleared his throat and explained, "You can consider this a lease for now. If you don't like it, you don't have to take it to heart or worry about it."

"Kyouya—"

"A year. A few years. I can present it to you at a more ideal time later, but please wear it for now. It will make me feel more at ease."

"But Kyouya—"

"I won't compromise on this, Haruhi. You know how American men can be, but this will drive them away in an instant, so—"

"Kyouya!" Haruhi exclaimed, half laughing as she covered his mouth with her hand to make him shut up. Kyouya bristled when she did, but then he saw the glimmer on her finger. Her ring finger.

Haruhi's eyes twinkled as she narrowed them at Kyouya in amusement. "Trust me, Kyouya. You don't have to worry so much about other boys. I'm already sold."

Kyouya cleared his throat again, a little more awkwardly. He removed her hand and said, "Good. Then we have reached an understanding." Before he let Haruhi's hand drop, he hesitated, and then he brought his lips to her hand in a gentle kiss. "I'm glad."

Haruhi giggled just as the bus pulled up with a hiss of its engine. "A lease, you said?"

"Yes," he answered, matching her tone. "As long as I can collect the interest later."

Kyouya still hadn't let go of her hand.

The doors of the bus slide open. Haruhi stood. "I'm not sure I can give you a real answer now, but perhaps in the future."

"It doesn't matter to me. I told you, I'm giving you time. Just don't take too long, Haruhi. I'm impatient."

"I know," Haruhi laughed. "I've been in several of your personal debts before."

The driver rudely honked the horn, and Kyouya's grip tightened in response. Sighing, Haruhi slipped her hand out of his and grabbed her suitcase. "It's time for me to go, Kyouya."

Kyouya jumped to his feet and smoothly kissed her, ignoring the loud honking. "Do well," he murmured. "Be successful. And don't you dare forget about me."

"How could I?" Haruhi replied with a soft smile. She rolled her eyes and added, "Besides, you don't fool me." She shamelessly stuck her hand in Kyouya's pants pocket and pulled out a plane ticket. Her smile turned into a smirk as she waved it in front of his face. "You were planning on harassing me within a month anyway. Is it even worth saying goodbye to you?"

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about," Kyouya deadpanned, his glasses flashing.

Haruhi chuckled and handed him back his plane ticket. "Yeah, yeah. I'm sure." Then she turned to the obnoxious bus driver and said, "Hey! Don't you realize this is an important moment? In shoujo mangas, the main couple always has at least a fifteen minute goodbye scene."

"Yes, he's kind of ruining the moment, isn't he?" Kyouya agreed. "And what's more, there aren't enough flower petals floating in the air. I'll have to contact my servants. They're falling down on the job."

Haruhi jabbed him in the side. "Your touch is slipping, rich bastard."

"And _you_ are being unfashionably late, commoner. Hurry and get on before I change my mind and follow you to the airport after all."

"Alright!" Haruhi hugged Kyouya tightly, catching him off guard, before hopping up the steps and climbing aboard the bus. Haruhi grabbed a seat and then tapped on the window to get Kyouya's attention. When he looked up, she laughed and flashed her engagement ring at him one last time, and then the bus drove off.

Kyouya stood in place for a good while, even long after he could see the bus in the distance. When he finally turned around and headed back to meet up with the rest of the host club, he made a mental note to himself to call Haruhi tomorrow afternoon when she had landed. And jetlag be damned.

Kyouya admired his plane ticket one last time, and he smiled, tucking it away safely.


End file.
